What if
by ShamanYoshigumi
Summary: What if Hao came to Yoh after their battle in the anime? What if he had lost the drive to eliminate all human beings? What if the Shaman Tournament was subsequently held in the UK following the destruction of Patch Village? This is a fanfic depicting that
1. He gasped awake

Watch the last episode of Shaman King before you read if you haven't. This happens immediately after. And read the manga for more details.

* * *

He gasped awake, a hot pain throbbing from the middle of his chest to the end of his abdomen. For a moment, he lay there, fighting the pain, until instinct told him to respect it like he always had so many hundreds of years ago. He looked at the blue sky, admiring the beauty of nature that those humans were destroying with no remorse. Another wave of pain swept through him, and he groaned aloud as he gripped the grievous wound that was etched into his torso. He reached deep inside for his ability to teleport in a burst of flames. Nothing happened. He frowned, and tried again. To no avail.

"Nanda kore wa?!" he exclaimed, inwardly. The flowing spiral column that was known as the "Great Spirits" was still visible, albeit a considerable distance from where he was lying.

"Ore no chikara..."Great Spirit

His powers appeared to have been lost, or at least considerably lessened when Yoh had sliced clean through his protective seals and barriers, even defeating the Spirit of Fire's vain attempt to block the double medium sword that had determined the end of the battle. He remembered staring blankly in shock and disbelief, pupils dilated, as he felt the Great Spirit disintegrate before him in a spectacular explosion which had sent him flying out of consciousness. And out of everyone's sight, including that pesky green-haired dowser who just happened to be everywhere Yoh and his gang were, and who had a bitter vengeance against him.

"Great Spirit." He tried to summon his loyal companion, hoping to see the familiar shimmering almost robotic orangey red figure towering over his broken body, waiting to pick him up in its soft hand and fly away with him in it. In vain, it seemed. Impossible, he thought.

"Great Spirit."

Nothing.

"Great Spirit, heed my call." He once again tried to integrate the Great Spirit into the physical plane using oxygen as a catalyst.

He was getting desperate, and he knew it. A sense of doom filled him as his guardian from hell failed to respond the third time. He gave up, and lay back against the grass, trying to will the pain away so he could get to his knees, at least. He dared himself to look down, to assess the extent of his injury. A deep cut ran through the middle of most of his torso, stopping a little way above his navel. It didn't appear to be bleeding that profusely, but mauve still oozed slowly from the line, staining his now not-so-white poncho. He tried to push himself up to a sitting position, putting his hands on the ground. White hot pain shot through him and he abandoned the effort with a harsh cry of frustration and agony. His muscles rippled as he fought from screaming with the effort. Why was he so weak? Why?!

Despite himself, he felt a tear force its way out of the membrane of his right eye. He had lost everything; his comforting and warm companion, the Great Spirit, and more importantly, a large portion of his power. He even doubted his ability to read minds, although he could do without that. The filthy thoughts of those disgusting humans were more than enough to make him blanch every now and again. The tear rolled down the side of his cheek and hit the grass with a gentle rustle. He, Asakura Hao, the Buddhist monk who conquered death, was weeping! He, who survived through the millennia and made everything possible, was crying! What had Yoh done?! Why was he… feeling? Even before, Yoh had managed to stir up the emotion of hate and anger when he somehow regained his soul and rose again to win the fight. Even Opacho had run away when she realized that Hao was no longer "her" Hao-sama. Doush-tan?!

With a last effort, and a determined cry, he pushed himself up to lean against the conveniently placed oak tree that was shading him from the rays of the sun. What was he to do now? Rid the world of humans? Yoh had explained very clearly his disapproval of killing and why the world _had _to be filled with humans. Even his best friend was a human! Now that he thought of it, _Shamans _were humans as well. They just happened to be able to see spirits. What made them any different from human beings when it came to destroying the world? They still used cars. 

They still used electricity. They still relied on those disgusting coal power plants that spread poison to the air and killed everything it came in contact with. Maybe… maybe they weren't so bad after all.

"Nani?!" he exclaimed again. "What was he thinking?! Were these thoughts even normal?! Humans weren't so bad after all?!"

A wet feeling sensation spreading across his chest brought him back to the world. The blood had made a huge patch on his poncho, and was spreading, at a faster rate, or so it seemed. With a groan, he pulled the long article of clothing over his head and held it against his chest, hoping to staunch the bleeding. It helped. Slightly. He needed to get out of here. He needed to meet with Yoh and explain what he had figured out. That look of hate on his twin's face as he charged up toward him with his double medium was positively frightening. That's why he needed to dispel that emotion from his other half. To stop the legacy of killing from happening again. He had lost the will to kill anymore. He had lost the drive to destroy. He realized what he did was wrong. All that harassment of his brother before the final match itself. Then, the taking of his twin's soul and the assimilation of it into himself.

He looked around for anything that would nourish him. Great. An orange tree stood nearby. Oh well, that would have to do for now. Perhaps some citrus would help him regain his teleportation ability. Because he wasn't going anywhere far for now. Not in that state.

* * *

"Ren!" Yoh stumbled into the room, amazed by the sight of the purple haired shaman sitting patiently in his living room, arms crossed, eyes closed. He was wearing his greenish yellow suit with matching shorts again.

"Ah."

"What are you doing here?"

"My sister sent me over with some abalone." Ren replied begrudgingly.

"You came all the way from China for that?!" Yoh laughed, and put his hands behind his head. "You love her a lot, don't you? Flying all the distance for her. Haha, I swear you've gotten softer and softer ever since we've met."

"B-b-Baka!" Ren blushed, his hair shooting up. "You better cook me a good dinner, after all the effort I took coming here. Oh, and by the way, Anna's in the kitchen chopping things up."

Yoh's eyes widened.

"Nani?!" he rushed to the kitchen and pulled open the door, groceries in hand. The girl in the red dress was calmly chopping the abalones while casually eyeing a cookbook. His eyes nearly popped out of his head! Anna cooking?!

"Anna…"

"You're late. Get a knife and come here."

"Hai." Yoh snapped to attention and appeared beside her in an instant.

"Make me a good dinner or omae wa korosu." (I will kill you.)

Yoh's sweat dropped and he took over quickly, chopping the abalones and some scallions with his other hand.

"Hai desu! Gomenasai!"

"Don't forget the fish sauce." Anna slammed the door shut behind her. Yoh sighed in relief. He prepared the food with utmost care and eventually placed the fried abalones on the table as well as other side-dishes he had cooked to complement them.

"Konban-wa!" Manta burst in through the door. He blinked his eyes in surprise.

"Ren-kun?" he inquired. The Chinese boy nodded to him.

"Damare." Anna said, in an icy tone. "Sit down."

Manta dived for his seat.

"Itadakimasu." They dug in.

As they ate, Manta's mind began wandering.

"Yoh-kun."

"Hmm?"

"Iie…"

"Ah, Manta. Nan desu ka? Omai daijoubu?"

"Hai…" Manta looked down, unwilling to ask the question that he had so fervently wanted answered. "I wonder what happened to Hao."

Anna raised her eyebrow.

"How dare you say his name in this house?" She retorted. "Get out."

Everyone sweat dropped.

"A-Anna." Yoh tried to pacify her. "It's alright… I-ugh!"

He was cut off as his fiancée delivered a slap to his left cheek.

"I wasn't serious. Don't be so gullible." She commented. "Omaih." She pointed to Manta, who was poised for a quick getaway. "Sit down. It's rude to stand when people are eating. Answer the question, Yoh."

Yoh grinned, the imprint of a palm still clearly visible on his cheek.

"I don't know, Manta-kun. Maybe he got destroyed with the Great Spirit."

"Do you hate him?" This was Ren speaking.

"Iie… Koitze wa ore no onii-san." (He is my older brother.) "How can I hate him?"

"You're soft Yoh. Always too soft." Ren said. "You realize that he tried to kill you, and didn't think twice about it?"

"Yeah…" Yoh replied absent-mindedly, his mind obviously somewhere else. Ren and Anna sighed almost in unison. How he could live with himself was beyond understanding.

"What's on your mind?" Manta asked. Yoh was being himself again, away from the world, while chewing on the piece of seafood.

"Betsuni." (Nothing.)

There was a loud bang and the paper walls were illuminated as the group realized that there was a fire in the garden.

"Yoh, Ren. Get the fire extinguisher." Anna took command. "Manta, open the door." She had her beads ready, for what reason no one knew.

Manta slid open the door in one swift motion, closing his eyes as he did so. Anna's look of conviction suddenly changed to that of surprise. Her mouth gaped open at the sight before her, and her knees buckled, before she took control of herself and sat on a nearby cushion.

"Get out of the way!" Ren yelled. He and Yoh appeared round the corner carrying a hose. Their eyes widened and their pupils dilated as they realized the situation.

"Bason!"

"Hai, Bocchama."

"Amidamaru!"

"Yoh-dono. I am ready."

The spirits were poised for oversoul when suddenly the figure at the door dropped to its knees and stretched its hand out weakly.

"Y-Yoh…" it called faintly, and collapsed upon the threshold of the door.

Yoh stood at the middle of the room, hand hung limply at his side, carrying his sword.

"GOLDEN CHUUKA ZAN-"

"Yamenasai, Ren." Anna blocked his path.

"Nani?! Koitze… Koitze…" Ren stammered. "Koitze wa oretachi no teki desu!" (He is our enemy!)

"Not now he isn't." Anna replied coldly. "The fact that we're standing here alive proves that. Help me with him. Manta, stop hiding and come help me put out this fire. Yoh."

The younger Asakura stood there in shock, not bothering to respond to Anna's call. This was… this was his other half… the one who he had dealt a lethal cut at the end of the battle. What was… what was he doing here?!

He was brought back to his senses by a sharp left handed smack on the face by Anna.

"Snap out of it, Yoh. He's your brother, so help him."

"Ah… Hai…" he gingerly picked up Hao in his arms and gently carried him into the living room, where he placed the limp body onto the cushions that Manta had lined up ready for him.

Yoh stared at the shirtless boy lying on his floor. He noticed the deep cut etched into his twin's torso and noted with regret that it was indeed his doing. Hao's long hair, now knotted with dirt, was spread out untidily over the floor, and Yoh made effort to arrange it as best as he could.

"Faust? Get over here now." Anna spoke into the receiver. "I don't care what time it is. I expect to see you in five minutes or you can say goodbye to Eliza. I'm sending her back up to heaven if I don't see you outside the door." She banged the receiver back onto the phone quite roughly.

"Yoh, I don't know what I'm doing, but there's a reason why he came in that weak state. I don't think he's here to kill us." Manta commented. A vein was slightly visible in Ren's forehead.

"Then what's he here for? Why come all the way to pass out without even giving a proper fight?!" the Chinese boy retorted, still wary of the unconscious boy. Anna shot him a glare that could send even the most horrifying of spirits back to hell. He stiffened and crossed his arms again; leaning against the frame of the door, spear in easy reach.

"He's hurt." Anna said. "You did this, so you clean him up."

She threw a medicated cloth at Yoh, and it hit him in the face. He pulled it off with a smile, and began wiping down his twin's bleeding body.

"I wonder why his muscles are so…" Yoh commented, as he ran a finger down Hao's side, feeling his developed deltoids, refraining from touching his chest or abdomen for fear of infecting the wound. He looked down at his own body through his unbuttoned shirt and sighed with dismay. He didn't even have a six-pack, let alone deltoids! He glanced at Manta, and together both of them chuckled softly.

"I didn't become your fiancée for your body." Anna's voice made him jump. He smiled appreciatively at her and went back to his task.

"The doctor is here." The sleepy German stood at the doorway, medical bag at hand. Eliza smiled approvingly at everyone. Her smile vanished, however, when Hao gave a loud groan of discomfort as Yoh unintentionally scrubbed at his wound with the cloth.

"Shoo." Faust nudged Yoh away. "Let the doctor do his work." Yoh complied, but refused to go far, kneeling down on the other side of his twin.

As usual, Faust began muttering to himself.

"Can I do it? He's injured badly… what can I do? He's our enemy… should I really BE doing this?"

And as usual, Eliza appeared beside him, holding a syringe of anesthetic.

"Are you sure, my dear?" the spirit nodded, pressing it into his hand. "Very well. I shall treat him. Please exit the room."

"But Faust…" Ren began. "What if he…"

"The medicine will keep him unconscious for at least two days. More than enough time for me to operate and fix this. Now please." He motioned to the door, smiling sleepily as he did so.

They left, although tentatively.

"How is this possible?!" Ren pouted. "I thought we were rid of him once and for all. Well, at least for the next 500 years."

Yoh shook his head. He had no answers. Neither had anyone else.

"What do you think is gonna happen when he wakes up?" Manta said, fear in his voice. Yoh shrugged.

"Who knows?" He smiled again. "Everything will be alright in the end." The care freeness was annoying yet placating.

"You are too sure of yourself." Anna said. "The only reason why I didn't kill him is because of the way he called you."

"Huh?"

"The way he said your name. It's obvious he wasn't here to pick a fight or taunt us. His voice had defeat in it." She replied, stoic faced.

Yoh's stomach growled loudly. He rubbed it and grinned.

"I want some more abalone." Anna's eyebrow twitched.

SMACK.

"ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!"

"Ah… Itai…" he rubbed his left cheek. "Anna, you don't have to hit me for everything I do."

"Why not?" She challenged. He sweat-dropped.

"Hee hee…" he laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. They sat in silence for awhile, each reminiscing of the past and thinking of the future.

The door slid open, the sickly smell of ether leaking into the room. Faust poked his face round and nodded.

"Operation is a success." Eliza vanished, and he smiled at them. "May I ask, though, what is HE doing here?"

Anna raised her eyebrows.

"Does it look like I know?"

"But…"

"Urusai. Stay if you want, but don't get in my way." Faust nodded, and picked up an abalone from the huge dish on the table.

Yoh knelt down beside Hao again. Faust had injected his Furyoku into the wound, causing the skin to fuse together partially and make the cut less deep. His twin's face looked so serene as he lay, breathing slowly. Yoh wondered why Hao had waited the whole week to come to Funbari. That cut had been bleeding ever since the battle ended; it must have required a great deal of willpower in order to sustain himself through the ordeal and even teleport all the way from the USA to Japan.

He picked up the damp cloth again and started wiping Hao's soiled face. After a few minutes, he dipped the cloth into the bucket of warm water that Anna had brought from the kitchen and cleaned it. Hao was beginning to look more like himself now. He turned the boy over onto his side, and washed his back, which was scratched and bruised after days of leaning against the tree. He sighed. Could he really forgive Hao for what he had tried to do? His thoughts flashed back to where Hao had joined them in the bath in the USA, to when they had coffee together in Patch Village Café. To their first and last battle together as they held off Manta's father.

"Daijoubu, nii-san." He muttered, as he once again cleaned the cloth. He grinned, wondering what it would be like when his other half eventually awoke.

Manta, Anna and Ren watched silently. Faust was too busy pounding the abalone into a pulp so he could intravenously feed himself with it to pay attention. He never paid much attention to anything else but his dear Eliza anyway.

"_Why are you wearing a track suit?" Yoh asked Hao. "And what are you doing here?!"_

"_I've lost my accommodation for the night, so I'm staying here. The fact that I will go to sleep here and know that no one will murder me shows how powerful I am." _

"_Don't be so sure." Ren said, having obviously eavesdropped on the conversation. _

Yoh grinned as he remembered the time in Patch Village where that happened. That was the night before the battle with Manta's father's fleet of battleships. He liked his brother even more now. He never hated him. He had actually enjoyed the night where they spent, lying beside each other in their futons. The small talk before Hao fell asleep. The few minutes Yoh had spent staring at his twin's face as he slumbered. The face that was before him now.

A large hairbrush hit him on his head.

"Anna…" he picked up the black thing.

"He's not sleeping in this property with such filthy hair. Take care of it, Yoh." She left the room. "I'm going to bed. Oh, and make sure Faust pays for the food and drink he's taken."

Faust froze as he was connecting the intravenous tube to his arm. Yoh smiled at him.

"Don't worry, you know her. She's always like that." He mouthed, behind Anna's back.

"Yoh, don't think I don't know what you're doing."

"Ack!" Yoh froze as well, sweat drops visible on his face. "Sumi… sumimasen Aaah!" Anna's sandal hit him square on the forehead. Even Ren's eyes were bulging as they worshipped Anna's precision at dealing out punishment.

"I'm going to bed. Breakfast had better be ready when I come downstairs tomorrow."

"G-good night, Anna." Yoh replied. He sighed with relief once he heard her door slide shut.

"Y-Yoh-dono." Amidamaru appeared, crying a river of tears.

"Ah…" Yon mimicked his spirit ally's actions. He looked around the room. Faust was "enjoying" his meal and Ren was finishing the last of his milk. Manta had surprisingly taken over Yoh's job and was brushing Hao's unkempt tangled hair with a frown as he tried to clear the dirt from it. He dipped the brush into the water and smoothed out portions of hair that he had managed to clear.

"Manta, do you want to stay the night?" he asked his best friend.

"Kisama! What about me?!" Ren butted in, his hair looking particularly pointy.

"Ah… Hai…" Yoh grinned. "I forgot."

"Baka."

"Of course. I'm staying down here tonight so you can use my room. Oh, and can you bring down two futons please?" Ren padded up the stairs wordlessly.

"Make that three!" Manta yelled back. Yoh looked at Manta gratefully.

"Manta-kun…"

"Don't say anything, Yoh-kun. You're my best friend. Best friends help each other." Manta continued brushing Hao's hair, not looking up. A draught blew in through the open door, and Hao visibly shivered. Yoh slid it shut as Ren appeared dressed in his night clothes, easily hefting three futons over his shoulder. He dumped them on the ground and cleared his plate, sweeping loose portions of food from the table onto it.

"Ren, you don't have to…" Yoh began.

"Urusai." Ren went into the kitchen and soon Yoh could hear water running as Ren washed the dishes.

"Domo, Ren." He called softly, not wanting to wake Anna and incur her wrath.

He spread out the futons carelessly across the floor, sweeping aside his training weights to clear more space. He lifted Hao gently and placed him on the nearest futon, before drawing the blanket over his body.

"He's not even that heavy." He thought. He knelt down beside Hao again, just staring at him. It was amazing how alike they looked, apart from the long hair. He ran his hands through his twin's hair, admiring the silkiness of it. Manta had done a good job indeed brushing the long strands. He undid his topknot and ran a hand through his own hair, noticing the exact same texture as his brother's.

He sighed, and pulled his own futon so that it was right beside Hao's. He lifted Hao's huge blanket and snuggled under it, feeling the warmth that was emanating from his twin's body. He reached out and stroked Hao's arm, as if to confirm to himself that he was really there.

"Good night, Yoh-sama." Faust left to go back to his room. "I'll check on him in the morning."

Manta turned off the lights and buried himself in his own futon.

"Oyasuminasai, onii-chan." Yoh closed his eyes.

* * *

I have the next chapter on standby, but I want to know whether it's worth it continuing the story or not. This means, review please! If I get enough reviews today I'll post the other section straight away. Thanks!


	2. Gomenasai

Okay, I had four wonderful reviews for chapter one, and something told me to just post the next chapter anyway! I hope you take your time and have fun reading this little piece of work.

* * *

He gasped awake, eyes wildly scanning the room. The early sun shone through the paper door, lighting it up from the outside. Where was he?! What happened when he teleported back to Funbari Onsen? He slowly remembered seeing Yoh's confused face as Ren stood behind him, seething with rage. He remembered the pain getting the better of him. He remembered calling his other half's name before blacking out.

A snore brought his senses to a heightened state again. He looked around the room, and there was a small sleeping body in a corner of the room, huddled up in a ball. The snore came again, and this time, it sounded very close. He became aware of an arm draped over his chest, irritating his wound slightly. His pupils dilated with surprise, and he pulled the blanket away from him. Yoh was sleeping soundly beside him, arms and legs in a disheveled mess. His left arm lay across Hao's chest, while his other was tucked behind his head. His hair, missing its topknot, had been twisted into an unusual shape as he in turn had twisted and turned during the course of his slumber.

He very gently pulled the blanket over both of them again, taking care not to wake his twin. For a few moments, he stared at Yoh's sleeping face.

"How disgusting." He thought, as Yoh's mouth hung wide open, snores emanating from within it. A thin line of drool ran from the side of his mouth to the pillow. "Is this how I look when I'm sleeping?"

He smiled, and stroked Yoh's shoulders gently. As if on cue, the slightly younger Shaman rolled over and snuggled up against him with a groan, bringing his right leg over Hao's waist and hugging him closer as he gripped Hao's shoulder with his right hand. He smiled, and slowly tried to find sleep again.

He was jolted awake once more, as Yoh stretched himself before him, yawning.

"Aaaaahhh……" the boy groaned, as his joints were stretched to their limit. "Eh, nani?" his right hand was on something firm and soft. He gripped harder, and felt a sudden stiffness spread across the surface.

He turned, and saw Hao's face looking down at him sleepily as his hand was placed on his twin's tensed abdomen.

"AAAH! Sumimasen, Onii-Chan!" the frantic apology was waved away by Hao.

"It's okay."

"Why are you here, Onii-Chan?" Yoh asked him softly, not wanting to wake Manta, or Anna for that matter.

"Ano… ore…" Hao struggled to find the words. "There are some important things I need to tell you. But first, I am so very sorry. Gomenasai. For… you know."

Yoh didn't need even need to think to know that Hao meant everything up to the battle where they had last parted.

"Ah." Yoh brushed the apology off, as if it never happened at all in the first place. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine…" Hao groaned. The throbbing had started to come back again, albeit not as intense as it was for the past week. "Ugh…"

Yoh raised himself up on his elbows and looked at Hao properly for the first time in his life. Peering into those large onyx eyes, he tried to read what was in his twin's head. It was easy seeing the remorse in the eyes of his double. He knew Hao missed Opacho. He knew that his twin no longer had the urge to kill human beings.

"Otouto, I do the reading of minds, not you." Hao retorted, smile playing on his lips. Yoh grinned back widely.

"I know." He replied. "But it's not hard to see what you're thinking."

Hao blushed.

"Sou-ka?" Yoh chuckled softly at Hao's innocence.

"Onii-chan?"

"Hai."

"Come live with us. With me." He almost pleaded.

"What about Anna? Last time we met wasn't exactly an experience that she found pleasant." He remembered Anna staring at him with despair, right after he had absorbed Yoh's soul.

"Anna?" Yoh scoffed. "She was the only one concerned about you when you appeared yesterday, destroying our garden."

"Sorry about that. I couldn't control my powers at that time." Hao replied sheepishly. "But…"

"Hmm?"

"Back then…" and Yoh knew he was talking about their last battle. "Did you… do you… hate me?" his voice quivered.

"Baka…" Yoh said casually, resting his head on Hao's shoulder. "I could never hate you."

"Will you forgive me?" Yoh suddenly felt moisture dripping onto his forehead. Hao was crying. Hao was crying?!

"Nii-chan, what's wrong?" he turned over and held the weeping boy by his shoulders as he tried to play it cool.

"Forgive me." Hao said softly, tears dripping down his chin. He was sorry for everything. He was sorry for burning his father's face the night he was born. He was sorry for killing Lyserg's family for not joining him. He was sorry for taking Yoh's soul.

"Nii-chan…" Yoh whispered. He pulled Hao into an embrace, holding his twin's face against his chest. He rubbed away the stream of tears that streaked Hao's face.

"Don't cry." Hao looked up at him. He smiled back at his older twin. "Everything is going to be alright in the end."

Hao nodded. He couldn't stop the flow of tears though. Yoh looked down at him, and smiled.

"I suppose sometimes it's alright to cry." He said, changing his stance. "Even for someone as emotionless as you."

"Urusai." His voice was muffled, being buried in Yoh's shirt. Yoh smiled again, and stroked his brother's silky dark brown hair.

"Where's breakfast?" Yoh jumped. Standing at the frame of the door was Anna.

"I'll get it done now!" but before he could jump to his feet, Ren entered the room and placed a dish laden with food on the table.

"What's that?" Yoh asked.

"Breakfast." Ren replied casually. He glanced at Hao. "Kisama. So you woke up. Finally." He sat in front of the television and was about to turn it on when Anna stepped into his line of sight.

"What are you doing?!"

"My house. My television." Anna said simply. She snatched the remote from his hand and switched the box on, flipping through channels almost lazily as she chewed on the food Ren had cooked.

"Ren… I didn't know you cooked." Yoh commented. Ren blushed again, and tried to hide it.

"Jun." he said simply. Yoh understood immediately. So Ren's sister was responsible for Ren becoming gradually softer and softer since the time they met. He lowered Hao back down onto the futon and examined his twin's developed body.

"Hey… what happened to the Great Spirit?" he asked. Hao's eyes darkened.

"I don't know… he wouldn't come when I summoned him." He replied. "Must I go back to hell to retrieve this minion of mine?"

"Why?" Yoh queried. "Why do you need the Great Spirit? It's not like you're going to use it to destroy the world any more, is it?"

Hao smiled, looking uncannily like Yoh when he was faced with a difficult situation, Anna noted.

"No." he replied. "I'm going to help you become the Shaman King. Even if it takes going back to hell again for that."

Yoh grinned.

"Arigato, Onii-san. But the fights have been suspended for now."

"Sou-ka?"

"Hai."

"Oh well… guess we'll just have to wait then." He tried to push himself to a sitting position but the strain on his abdominal muscles threatened to tear open his wound again. He let out a quick cry of agony and collapsed back down onto the futon, chest heaving with pain.

"You shouldn't exert yourself, Nii-san." Yoh raised his eyebrows in concern. "The last thing you want to do is die on us. Let us take care of you. I'm a good cook!" he ended, laughing awkwardly.

"Hmph." Hao sneered, resting his head on his hands. "Well, whatever." He idly eyed the television. "Guess I'll take advantage of the hospitality while I still can."

"Normally I would ask you to pay for this." Anna said suddenly. "But since you're Yoh's brother you escape the penalty."

"Ah… arigato, Anna." Yoh grinned at her.

"I'll think about it." Was the reply, as she got up and went to the kitchen to deposit her dish.

"Think about what?" Hao wondered.

"The punishment." Yoh replied, crying rivers.

"Yoh-dono." Amidamaru appeared, also weeping.

"Baka." Ren looked them over, a small smile on his face. The door opened, and Faust entered the living room.

"The doctor is back." He scrutinized Hao's body, and clucked with disapproval, as he noticed the scratches on Hao's back. He took out some cream from his kit, and handed it to Yoh.

"Onii-chan, turn over." Hao complied, groaning with the effort. He felt his hair being brushed away from his back, and tied firmly at its end. Then…

"Uaaah! Cold!" he cried out, arching his back as Yoh applied the lotion onto his back. He soon sighed with relief as the burning sensation in his back caused by its abuse slowly faded away as Yoh rubbed the ointment into his skin.

"Wow, how did he get so muscular in the first place?" Yoh wondered again as he kneaded Hao's wiry back and shoulders. He noticed that Hao's back held a lot of tension, and proceeded to ease out the tension gently. Hao groaned with relief.

"Otouto, how did you get so good at this?" he moaned.

"Ah, I massage Anna all the time." Yoh replied, focused on the task ahead, drawing more groans from the reclining boy.

"What happened to your poncho?" he asked Hao.

"I held it against my wound to stop it bleeding some more." The boy replied. "Why, you want it?"

"Iie… I was just wondering why… why you don't wear… normal clothes." Yoh voiced. "You don't wear anything under that poncho. Don't you care what people think about you when you walk down the street half naked wearing those baggy trousers and that loose fitting cape thing?"

"Look who's talking." Hao commented smugly. "Look at what _you're _wearing now."

Yoh looked at his own unbuttoned shirt with rolled up sleeves and went red.

"At least I have something to show." Hao continued, turning over and tensing up his abdomen to prove his point, although with a wince. Yoh visibly shrank as all eyes on the room were on him. He tried to cover himself up by crossing his arms over himself.

"Nii-channnn…" he laughed, running his hand through his hair. "Why did you have to embarrass me like that?"

Hao smiled. Although Yoh couldn't see it, he knew full well that his twin was smirking into the pillow.

"It's what brothers do. Embarrass each other." He said simply, stretching his hands upwards and making himself comfortable as he enjoyed the massage. He soon fell asleep again, still tired out from the past week of suffering.

"Ren, if I have to tell you one more time that Hao is no longer our enemy I'll let you know with this sandal." Anna said in one sentence. "Don't make me show you how."

Ren's pupils dilated and he gulped. He dropped his sword, sat down stiffly and sweat-dropped, as he abruptly turned toward the television.

"Hao. You're dirtying the house with the mud you've brought in." Anna said. "Yoh, prepare the bathhouse for him."

"Hai, Anna-san. Ne, Nii-San. Wake up; I'm going to get the bath ready so you can relax in it." Yoh poked Hao a few times in his back before he hurried away, leaving him still slumbering on the futon, facedown. Anna eyed the sleeping boy who was the mirror image of her fiancée. Strange. Was he becoming more… human? Did he even _sleep _before this? If he didn't, why sleep now? And what was with the small chat and genuine smiles? Anna hypothesized that a part of Yoh might have implanted itself into Hao either when their souls merged, or when Yoh dealt the blow which caused that now-not-so mortal wound to Hao.

Either way, she wasn't going to go easy on him. Not especially if he was going to pick up after her lazy fiancée, and follow in his footsteps of napping and "resting more often than others" attitude. She doubted it, though. There would be no possible way that Hao would find her training exerting at the very least. Very well, he could train Yoh, then. And if he found that accursed Great Spirit, he could guard the inn.

"Anna." Yoh's voice startled her from her selfish thoughts. "The water's ready."

She motioned casually to the sleeping boy, and Yoh understood immediately.

"Onii-chan." He shook Hao's shoulder, and his twin groaned in protest. "You need to clean up, Onii-chan. I've prepared the bath for you."

He pushed Hao onto his back, and lifted him up gently, once again noting the lightness of his other half. He tottered all the way to the bathhouse, and gingerly lowered the long-haired shaman into the water, before stripping and jumping into the steaming water.

"The water feels good." Hao commented, just like he had said, too long ago in Patch Village.

"Ah, you're right." Yoh grinned, recalling Horo-horo flying into a fit of exasperation after he had seen the total acceptance of Hao in the water.

"So, what was that important thing you were going to tell me again?"

"I watched the stars the other day." Hao replied, nonchalantly. "The next Shaman King battle will be held in Britain."

"Nani?! Seriously?!" Yoh choked in the water, and went into a coughing fit. It was some time before he managed to speak again.

"Yes." Hao's simple answer told Yoh that he was dead serious.

"So you need to train more." Anna's voice found its way into the bathhouse.

"AH! ANNA!" Yoh screamed, eyes popping out of his head. "YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE!"

He floundered about in the water for a bit, trying to find something to cover himself up with.

"Don't bother. I'm leaving." Anna said coolly. "Hao, you're going to help me train Yoh. Even if it means him going through hell again." She slammed the door shut.

"Oh, and by the way Yoh, it's nothing I haven't seen before." She poked her head in to retort, before leaving for good.

Yoh cried a river of tears.

"Such is my life." He sobbed. Amidamaru appeared beside him, crying as well.

"Yoh-dono…"

Hao smiled at them.

"You do love her, don't you?" he said softly.

"Yeah…" Yoh smiled. "In many ways I don't see fit."

"Anyway…" Hao continued. "You still have your Oracle Bell?"

"Ah."

"Two months, three days and three hours from now, you'll receive a message saying that the next fight will be held in London, UK."

"How do you know that?" Yoh was in awe.

"I read the stars all the time." Hao replied. "Aren't they beautiful?"

"Ah."

"Someday I'll teach you how to read them as well. One night. Just you and me." He looked up at the sky, enraptured by the beauty of the universe.

"Kisama!" Ren slid into the water, followed by Manta. "You didn't tell us you were going to stay in here with him as well. He could have murdered you and we wouldn't have known till it was too late."

"Nani." Yoh grinned at them. "He would never hurt me. Besides, Anna came in."

Their jaws dropped.

"Anna came into a _male _bathhouse?"

The twins nodded in unison. Manta stared at them.

"You know, it's weird when just a week ago, you guys were mortal enemies, and now you're taking a bath together in Yoh-kun's place." He commented thoughtfully. "I wonder what Lyserg would think of this." He added as an afterthought.

"Wait wait wait…" Yoh said, eyes widening. "Where did you say that next battle would be?"

"London, UK."

"Oh no."

"What?" Hao asked, curious at the sudden slumping of Yoh's shoulders as well as Ren and Manta's knowing glances.

"Lyserg lives in London."

Hao started as he realized the truth of it.

"Oh well, I'm sure that if I talk to him nicely he'll be fine with it. I'll tell him I'm sorry I killed his parents that day." He replied, with a smile. "Everything will be alright in the end."

Manta and Ren exchanged glances again, although this time with incredulity.

"Your words reek with what Yoh would say." Ren said snidely. "What has he done to you? Taught you 'Complacency 101 for the Bakayarou'?"

Yoh laughed happily.

"Everything will be alright in the end." He repeated. "I like that phrase."

"BAKA! THAT'S WHAT YOU ALWAYS SAY!" they screamed at him.

"Ahh… Sou Ka?" he scratched his head, absent mindedly. They gave up and sighed, blowing bubbles in the water as they slowly submerged.

"Nii-chan, let me wash your back." Yoh offered. He figured that since Hao was here, the least he could do was get closer to his twin, and washing his back was as close as he could get in terms of family ties.

"Nanda?!" Hao exclaimed, choking in the water as he goggled at the thought. He went into a coughing fit similar to Yoh's earlier one. Ren's and Manta's eyes were as large as dinner plates as they witnessed Hao's further loss of the cool, calm character he really was.

"Nii-chan daijoubu." Yoh reassured him as he thumped him on his back to help him get over the coughs. "We do this all the time." He picked up a sponge and lathered it up as he waited for Hao to turn away.

The long haired Shaman sighed. He knew there wasn't any way out of this. It didn't stop him from trying, though.

"Chotto… chotto matte!" he tried to talk his way out of it. "I'm hungry, I want some food!"

"Nani!" Yoh grinned. "I'll cook a delicious lunch for you afterwards, okay? There's nothing wrong with me scrubbing your back. You can scrub mine later, Nii-Channn…" He whined, trying to placate his twin.

"Hai… hai…" Hao agreed, subdued. He leant against the side of the hot bath as Yoh happily scrubbed his back.

"Ne, Ren." Manta started. "How long are you staying here for?"

"If what Hao says is true, then not for long." Ren replied. "I need to train some more so I can defeat Yoh. I will be the Shaman King!" he proclaimed proudly, as he always did.

"Ah." Yoh smiled at him. "Daijoubu. I don't really want to fight you because I don't really want to be the Shaman King now."

"Uh?!" Ren stared at him, flabbergasted.

"There's no reason for me to be the Shaman King." Yoh replied happily. "Onii-san doesn't want to rid the world of humans anymore. The only reason I entered it was to defeat him and also give Anna an easy life. She's having an easy life now, isn't she?"

One could almost hear the crickets chirping, except there weren't any at that time of year.

"You do realize that Anna's going to murder you, right?" Ren said. "Not that I'm concerned, but what happens after I become the Shaman King? Is she going to come for me then?"

"Don't talk about Anna like that." Yoh said staring at him, not unkindly. "I love her. She loves me, although she doesn't show it the way people usually do." He continued scrubbing Hao's back.

"Besides…" He continued. "I don't want to fight my friends. I had enough problems with Lyserg when he joined the X-laws. There's really no reason for me to win any more." He finished, smiling at them again.

"That's where you're wrong." Hao spoke up, from being silent for the past conversation. "You see, Yoh. You HAVE to become to Shaman King because if you don't, MY former minions will continue my original plan of seeing the world rid of humans."

"How do you know that?" Ren asked, skeptically.

"I know." Hao's answer was clear and concise. He looked up at the sky again knowingly, as if to confirm what he had said was really true, although it was daytime.

"Matte oh." Ren spat out. "You mean you looked at some _stars _and figured this out?"

"What's so hard to believe about that?"

"Baka. No one can tell what the stars really mean."

"I can." Hao smiled sweetly like he always did when he was having an argument. "Even from five hundred years ago I could tell what the world was going to be like today. And all that just from reading the stars."

"I don't believe it." Ren was adamant. Hao continued grinning.

"Fine." He said. "Don't. And all this time I'll be training Yoh so he'll defeat you in the end."

Ren's hair became just a little pointer and stiffer.

"Kisama! I never said I didn't want training anyway!" he shouted. "If you're training Yoh then I'll stay here for as long as I need!"

"Ah… Daijoubu desu." Yoh smiled happily again. He didn't voice out the fact that Ren was easily accepting the help of a former arch enemy, Hao, in his blind ploy to become more powerful. No matter, it would just mean more company for the coming winter months. He began to wash Hao's hair without his consent, although he didn't really need to ask for it.

"Yoh, do you still have the Spirit of The Earth?" Hao asked. "It's important for me to know so I can train you on the proper way to use it."

Yoh nodded.

"Hai, Onii-chan." He replied. "I still have him. And Amidamaru." He added.

"Sugoi, sugoi." (Good, good). "We can try multi-spirit Oversouls then." Hao said wistfully. "I wonder how your oversoul would look. A samurai combined with the Spirit of Earth. Interesting."

They exited the water, feeling calm and refreshed, and headed back into the inn. As expected, Anna was watching her favourite soap on the television, while idly toying with her beads, and Faust was feeding himself intravenously. The afternoon sun poured in through the various openings that the inn had, giving it an almost natural perspective.

"Okay, I'll cook lunch now." Yoh announced, before heading toward the kitchen. Manta and Ren stared at him.

"Dressed in that towel?" Yoh stopped abruptly.

"Ah… domo." He sighed. "Gomen, Hao. I'll get you some clothes."

He dashed upstairs and returned with another one of those white school shirts he usually wore when not fighting, and a pair of brown denim trousers. Hao picked them up with distaste.

"Nanda Kore wa?" he retorted. "Do you expect me to wear these things? I have my own clothes, thanks."

"Iie, Nii-san." Yoh said, grinning. "You're not wearing those filthy blown out trousers before I've washed them. Anna will kill me if she sees you walking about in those."

"Hai…" Hao sighed.

He donned the clothing, keeping well out of sight of Anna. He missed his loose fitting poncho. The freedom to move his arms about and not be constricted by this long sleeved dress shirt. For a moment he considered buttoning it up, but discarded the idea as he realized that he would be about a size larger than Yoh, seeing as his body was more developed. He tied his hair neatly round the back of his head instead of letting it run freely as he always did.

Manta and Ren had a double take when they he entered the kitchen to stand beside Yoh.

"Both of you look absolutely the same!" Manta exclaimed, while Ren glared on, clad in his usual Chinese training clothes missing the slippers as he was indoors. Hao chose to ignore them, and so did Yoh.

"Sooo… otouto, what's for lunch?"

"I'm trying a new recipe." Yoh replied, sticking his tongue out as he gutted an eel. "Fried eel with tempura. And miso soup, of course. Anna gets cranky when she doesn't have her daily take of soup."

Hao's stomach chose that inappropriate moment to growl loudly. Yoh grinned at him, while Ren and Manta gawked… again.

"Did you see that?" Manta whispered to Ren. "Hao actually gets _hungry!"_

Ren nodded, staring for a bit before getting milk out of the refrigerator. He was about to drink from the carton when Yoh lifted it from his hands.

"Sorry. Anna doesn't like it when people drink directly from that." He got Ren a glass and poured the milk for him. "There." He replaced the half full carton back and slammed the door shut.

Manta followed Ren to the living room where they sat quietly next to Anna and tried to enjoy her soap opera.

"When am I going to start training?" Yoh asked tentatively, as he fried the eel on low heat.

"Today, of course." Hao grinned.

"Ah… nani?" Yoh groaned. "Just give me a few more days of rest."

"I cannot." Hao said evilly. "You need to start training so you can beat all my 'gumi's. They have attained great power because of my teachings, and also because I wasn't there to restrict them from what they have learnt."

"Demo… demo…" Yoh tried to protest. "You're not well enough. Look at that wound!" he ran his finger down Hao's torso, feeling the cut he had made and causing his twin to stiffen up.

"Ahh! Yamenasai!" he slapped Yoh's hand away, panting with the pain. "You're out to hurt me, aren't you?"

"Iie." Yoh grinned. "That's nothing compared to what you _and _Anna are going to do to me for the next two months."

"Are you done with lunch yet?!" Anna's voice nearly lifted the roof. "You wouldn't let your beloved go hungry for the next three minutes would you?!"

"Ahh! Iie!" Yoh shouted back. "Although I think three minutes is pushing it." He said to Hao softly.

Hao smiled back. This was going to be a long two months. And he still needed to get his Great Spirit back.

Meanwhile in Hell, the Great Spirit was reincarnated, even more powerful than before. Hao felt the sudden surge of furyoku and smiled. This time, when he went back to hell to claim what was his, he wouldn't be alone.

* * *

I really had fun typing up this chapter. However though, I have no more chapters waiting on "Standby" so you'll have to wait a few days for the posting of the next one. Don't worry, I like writing, so I promise you all chapters will be at LEAST 3,500 words. Review if you like the story so far. It's always nice to have other people commenting on your work, no matter how long the reviews are, or what's in them.

The more reviews, the more interesting the story gets as I pick up other people's ideas!!

* * *


	3. Training and Reflection

Before you start reading, I'd like to clear up a few things. First of all, this story assumes that the anime took place after the events in the manga. Which means that Yoh and the others managed to defeat all the Patch Plants and move on to defeat Hao in the final battle which you see in the Anime.

Amendments have been made to first and second chapter to correct this mistake. The name 'Great Spirit' will hereby be replaced with 'Great Spirit'. Kudos are sent in the general direction of soshixrain, who alerted me to this outrageous oversight. Thanks soo much for this!

I won't risk talking about the Patch Plants because I don't want to go out of context of the graphic novels being released later this year. There! Hope everyone's satisfied.

* * *

"What are these things?" Hao asked, as he picked up a fork Faust had used to pierce the drip-bag. The other western utensils, a knife and a spoon, lay untouched on the table. Yoh chuckled.

"That." He took the three pronged utensil from Hao. "… is a fork. You use it to pick things up." He poked a piece of tempura and popped into his mouth.

"That." He picked up the concave metal object. "… is a spoon. You use it to scoop food or soup." He dug the spoon into his rice and ate a mouthful of it.

"That…" he pointed at the knife and sighed. "I don't really need to tell you what that's for, do I?"

Hao scrunched his face up.

"But surely." He picked up his own chopsticks. "This is a far better civilized way of eating?" He demurely picked up a piece of eel and gathered some rice before eating it politely.

"Well how are you going to cut pieces of meat that are too large for your mouth then?" Faust challenged, staring sleepy-eyed at him.

"Look around the table." Hao countered. "All the food's been cut up for us." And it was true. The eel was sliced up into bite-sized pieces, and the tempura was crackly anyway so it could easily be torn apart by the chopsticks.

"Well what about the soup?" Faust pointed at the spoon. "Surely you need that to drink it?"

Hao looked at him curiously and picked up the bowl of miso soup. He sipped from it and set the bowl back down on the table.

"I… give up." Faust sighed. Everyone suppressed a laugh as they enjoyed the food. Tamao, getting over her initial shock of meeting Hao in the house dressed in Yoh's clothes, had carefully made green tea of the highest quality, whipping it up into foam and letting it settle before bringing it out for presentation.

"The tea tastes good." Hao commented after tasting the hot drink.

"Ah, you're right." Yoh agreed. They finished lunch without much event. Hao got up and cleared his plate, drawing more gazes and dropping more jaws with the exception of Yoh. He sat at his place, grinning foolishly as he watched his twin carry his items to the kitchen.

"HOW CAN YOU SIT THERE AND BE SO CALM LIKE THAT?!" Manta screeched. "ASAKURA HAO CLEARING DISHES?!"

"Ah." Yoh said casually. "Doushtan? What's wrong?"

They swooned.

"Still the same…" Anna sighed. "How can you be so relaxed all the time?"

Yoh laughed, running hand through his hair. There wasn't any explanation for it. Yoh was Yoh.

Hao eventually returned, and lay down on the futon, groaning softly. Faust went over to check, and clucked his tongue in disapproval again.

"You have strained your body a little today." He said. Hao glowered at him.

"Ridiculous. I am Asakura Hao, and I will conquer all. My furyoku is…"

"Yes, I know your furyoku is 1,250,000." Faust cut him off. "That still doesn't hide the fact that the body has its limits while the mind doesn't. You must rest." He said in an ultimate tone.

"I cannot." Hao protested. "I need to train Yoh."

Faust sighed.

"Okay." He relented. "But you mustn't use any physical strength. Sit down whenever you can. Don't run." He began to lecture, and Hao stopped him.

"Hai. I was planning to train Yoh mentally today anyway."

"After he's done his twenty laps." Anna said. "You too, Ren, if you want to train with us."

"NANI?! Why do I have to train with…"

"Aaah, Anna. Cut me a break…"

"If anyone has any complaints it will be a hundred laps." Anna said coolly. They shut up.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Anna asked. "Go. Now."

"But…" Yoh protested. "We just ate!"

Anna shot a look of pure venom at him.

"Perhaps my threat of a hundred laps wasn't enough." She said in a dangerous tone, eyes flaring up. "Perhaps I should add in another twenty hours of practicing the horse stance and a further forty laps after that…"

She didn't even have to finish. Both of them had burst out of the house by that time. They knew to avoid Anna when she put on that face.

"Manta." She ordered. "Clear up."

"Hao. Rest." She threw a pillow at him and he caught it neatly. "You had better be ready to train my Yoh when he gets back."

Tamao and Manta set about clearing the table as Hao fell asleep relatively easily. Faust went upstairs to his office in case anyone wanted any medical attention at the inn.

"Ugh…" Yoh panted as he ran, Ren alongside him. "Twenty laps! How harsh. And it's so cold as well." He was wearing his thick brown jacket while Ren wore his fur coat.

"Isn't it hard to run in that?" Yoh pointed at the long article of clothing.

"Iie. It helps me with my movements." Ren replied, picking up the pace.

"Ahh… chotto matte!" Yoh tried to catch up. Eventually they finished, and walked back to the inn, out of breath and sweating slightly, for it was winter.

"My nose and ears are freezing off…" Yoh moaned, as he cupped his hands around them. He went and sat beside the radiator, warming himself up.

"Oi! Don't get too comfortable." Anna said. "You still have more training to do." She went over to a gently snoring Hao, and drew back her foot to kick him, much to the horror of everyone around.

"ANNA!" Yoh's aghast shout interrupted her.

"Nani?" She asked, picking up her hairbrush with her toes. Everyone's eyes receded back into their heads.

"… Betsuni." Yoh sighed with relief.

"Wake him up." She ordered. "He's getting as lazy as you. I won't have that." She headed in the direction of a bathhouse, picking up a robe along the way. Everyone visibly sighed with relief after Yoh.

"Ne, Nii-san." Yoh shook Hao gently. "Wake up, you need to train us."

"Ughh… five more minutes." The long haired shaman turned over and groaned into his pillow. Yoh smiled and poked him in his ribs.

That, unlike the shaking, worked immediately. Hao jerked with ticklishness and fended Yoh's hands away. Ren stared with disbelief at the great Shaman choking with laughter as Yoh renewed his assault.

"Uh!" Hao gasped, as Yoh began digging into his ribs. "Yamen… yamenasaiiii!" he slurred, as he wheezed and bucked.

"Iie." Yoh said, as he relentlessly tickled his twin. "Not until you get up."

"Okay okay!" Hao groaned. "I give up! Yamen kudasai!" Yoh ceased the attack, and he lay panting on the sheet for a few moments.

"This isn't good for my health, you know." He said reproachfully. "I haven't even healed yet!" he motioned to the wound on his chest. Yoh grinned sheepishly at him.

He got up of his own accord, and beckoned them to follow him. He went to the backyard, and picked up a clod of earth.

"Yoh. Come here." He placed the dirt in Yoh's palm.

"Can you shape the earth into a star?" To prove his point, he lit a star-shaped flame in his hand. Yoh stared, confused.

"How am I supposed to do that?" he asked. "And why a star?"

"Well, that's part of your training. And, it's a star because I like stars. Channel your furyoku into your palm, for starters."

"What about me?" Ren asked. Hao scratched his chin.

"Hmm…" he tried to think of something. Ren's spirit was the Spirit of Thunder.

"Okay." He said finally. He picked up a piece of stray wire on the ground.

"I know you can infuse your Kwan Dao with lightning, but try doing that to this little piece of metal. I'm not telling you what element it is or what type of metal it is, because you need to figure that one out for yourself. Feel the metal." He advised.

"Huh? Such a small thing?" Ren scoffed. "No problem."

Lightning crackled in his hand as he tried and tried to conduct the little piece of wire. Nothing happened, however. After the third try, he became impatient.

"KISAMA!" he scolded the wire. "Conduct, damn it!"

Hao let out a little laugh. He had taken a seat on a patch of grass that miraculously seemed to thrive in the winter.

"Not that easy, is it?" he said softly. "Look at that piece of metal. Are there striations on the sides of it? What sort of electricity will course through it? Try to use your head and not your strength."

A vein pulsed in Ren's forehead, and he tried to follow Hao's words. Yoh's clod of earth kept crumbling in his hands as he tried to focus his furyoku into it. He was patient, though, and picked up new pieces of dirt after each consequent failure. And so they toiled.

An hour and a half later, they were mentally exhausted.

"Nii-san…" Yoh wailed. "This is impossible."

Hao stood up and walked over to them.

"Not really." He replied. "Tell me what each of you tried to do."

"I channeled all my furyoku into the piece of soil from my palm." Yoh replied.

"Same here." Ren said. "Except mine was a bit of wire."

Hao sighed.

"I would have thought you'd grasped the concept after an hour and a half of trial and error." He said, feigning disappointment. "Oh well, guess I can't expect everything from my lazy other half."

"Listen up." He continued. "What you've been doing so far is partially correct. I did tell you to concentrate your furyoku into the object. That is what you've been doing. Fine. However…"

He drew a box of matches from his pocket (he had taken them from the living room while they were training) and lit a match. He transferred the flame from the match onto his palm, where it hovered, flickering gently.

"I can't manipulate earth or thunder, not until I get back the Great Spirit. So I need to use fire." He explained. "This is what happens when I focus all my furyoku on ONE point." The tiny flame suddenly expanded, combustion accelerated, and vanished in a spectacular burst of fire.

"I hope you saw what happened." Hao said. "That was overload for the flame. Now…"

He lit another match.

"This is what happens when I channel a small bit of furyoku into my WHOLE hand, not only my palm." He lit another match and transferred the flame onto his palm again. This time, instead of exploding, the flame slowly shaped itself into the form of a miniature star with five edges.

"Wah, sugoi, sugoi." Yoh exclaimed. "How?"

"Instead of channeling ALL your furyoku, try controlling its flow." Hao explained. "One mistake that most shamans make is to use up _all _their furyoku when attacking without paying attention to little details. That's where efficiency is lost. This type of shaman is usually the loser. Do any of you follow that meticulously inferior method?"

Yoh grinned.

"Ah, that's what I do sometimes, hee hee." He laughed, as he raised his hand. Ren blushed slightly and nodded as well. Hao smiled, and went back to sit down.

"Try again!" he said, with an encouraging tone. "It will not be easy, but once you get used to micro-furyoku manipulation you will be able to endure more battles and use your furyoku in a way that's both less consuming and more efficiently."

He picked up a leaf from the ground.

"Once you learn how to do that, I'll teach you how to manipulate other objects into a more powerful mediums." He threw the leaf at them, and they ducked, narrowly avoiding it. The leaf hit a little bird and exploded powerfully, sending shockwaves through the air.

Ren and Yoh stared, awed by the display of power. Hao smiled… again.

"I may have lost some of my power, but please remember that I am still in control of most of it." He said casually, untying his hair and letting it flow freely around his body. He was the only person not wearing a jacket, and was only clad in Yoh's school shirt. The bird's feathers fluttered down, jerking occasionally with the eddying flow of the aftermath of the explosion. Yoh frowned.

"Nii-san." He chided Hao. "That was unkind."

"Nani?" Hao smiled. "I sent it to be reincarnated to a different being. It should be thankful." He said, knowing full well that Yoh disapproved of killing.

"Keep training, and I promise I won't kill anymore things." Yoh nodded, satisfied.

They tried again, with renewed vigour, after that display of power. At the end of the day, Yoh managed to create a rough looking shape with his clod of earth, but Ren was still having major difficulties.

"Don't worry." Hao assured him. "Thunder and lightning are much harder to manipulate than earth. Once mastered, though, it's even more powerful than the Great Spirit."

Ren nodded again, staring at the piece of wire in his hand. He pocketed it and they went inside, to a delicious dinner that had been prepared by Tamao.

"I have prepared this crude dinner for you, so please enjoy." She said timidly.

Displayed on the table was a feast grand enough for a king. Combinations of every food possible were available. Yoh's jaw dropped to the ground as he began salivating hungrily.

"Yoh." Anna appeared at the doorway, dressed only in a bathrobe. "You wouldn't think of eating without your love, would you?"

"Iie… Anna." Yoh replied, gazing longingly at the food.

"I'm going to finish my bath and come out." She said. "Don't you dare eat without me."

"Where was she for the whole afternoon?" Hao asked Tamao, staring incredulously at Anna's retreating form.

"In the bath." Tamao answered, subdued. Everyone cried a river of tears as they waited for Anna. She eventually returned five minutes later, dressed in her traditional long red blouse and hair band.

"Itadakimasu." She said, taking a seat beside Yoh. They dug in.

"So." Anna said. "I hope you managed to teach Yoh something today." She looked at Hao.

"Hai." Hao replied, grinning. Anna nodded, apparently satisfied.

"Yoh, after dinner, practice for another two hours." Anna ordered. "Hao, watch him. Make sure he doesn't make any mistakes. Oh, and if it's something that doesn't involve using your legs, practice your 'horse stance' as well."

"Hai, Anna." Yoh sighed, defeated.

With a jolt of fear, he caught her eye, and froze where he sat. She reached out, and he shut his eyes tightly, expecting another slap. When none came, he looked up at her. She placed his headphones around his head wordlessly, her eyes softening.

"Please understand." She explained. "You need to be the Shaman King to stop Hao's minions from taking over the world. And also to give me an easy life."

"Wakarimasu."

"Then do it." She said, in a final tone, as she picked up a prawn and put it into her mouth. Yoh nodded, as he finished his soup.

"Hao, ikuzo!" (Let's go!) He grabbed Hao's arm and began dragging him toward the backyard.

"Ah ahh… chotto matte!" Hao exclaimed, fighting Yoh's grip. "I'm still eating! You go on first and I'll come out in a bit."

He fought his way back to the table and finished his dinner, while Yoh went outside to practice some more. When Hao was done, he went to the garden as he promised.

"Ah, Nii-chan. Genki desu?" Yoh grinned at him, as he fervently tried to shape the handful of earth he was holding. Hao nodded, and took a seat on the familiar patch of grass.

"Ne… Otouto…" he lay back on the grass, staring at the stars. Yoh turned toward him.

"Ah?"

"I need to go back to hell to get my Great Spirit." He told Yoh. "If I told you I was going next week, would you come with me?"

Yoh's face crinkled into the warm, reassuring smile he always had.

"Of course." He turned back to his training, trying to improve the shape of his miserable clod of earth.

"Ah." Hao rested his head on his hands and looked thoughtfully at the stars.

Oh, how beautiful they were. If only the humans, bustling about with their daily lives, trying to fit in with society, trying to gain as much economic and social wealth as possible, just looked up once in awhile at the stars, it would solve so many problems. Not to mention the de-stressing effect it had, Hao noticed, as he contemplated the ensuing journey back into hell. He looked over at his slightly younger twin, straining with the effort of balancing on his 'horse stance' while trying to do the task he was set. With his calm and collected attitude, Yoh made him less… nervous. At first, before their battle, it irritated him that his twin was taking life so easily but now he really began to see the point of it all. Although, he wouldn't admit it to anyone else, of course. That would only make others think differently of him.

He smiled a secret smile to himself, glad that no one else in the Asakura family had the mind-reading ability that he had. He wondered how Mikihisa was doing, as well as Yohmei, their grandfather. Would he be readily accepted back into the Asakura family despite what he had done? These thoughts troubled him.

"Onii-chan, what are you thinking of?" Yoh's voice interrupted his reminiscence and reflection, startling him.

"Ah… Iie.' He replied, smiling. "I was just thinking about what I'll have you do for training tomorrow."

"Sou-ka?" Yoh grinned back. "I know you're thinking about everyone else; Okaa-chan, Otosan and Anna."

Hao jumped inwardly. Hmm, perhaps his happy-go-lucky twin wasn't as brain dead as he thought he was.

"Hai. You're right about everything except…" he trailed off, gazing back up into the sky dreamily. Curious, Yoh prodded him.

"Nani?"

"Tell me what you're thinking." Yoh lay down beside him, taking care not to tread on his hair.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" The stars twinkled in the sky, winking intermittently as the gaseous substances of the Earth made them shimmer in and out of reality to the naked eye.

"You know, deep down I always knew you'd be powerful." He continued. "Just that your laziness stopped you from becoming the world's greatest Shaman."

"Ah, you're right." Yoh admitted. "And I'm not lazy… I just rest more than others."

He'd used the phrase countless times before, but he supposed one more time couldn't hurt. Hao chuckled softly as he closed his eyes.

"Otouto, you're rubbing off on me." He commented. "And I've only been here one day."

He remembered all those nights just sitting at a fire, Opacho at his side, enjoying the sights and sounds of the Arizona desert while the Shaman fights were going on. He missed those days.

"Nii-chan, it's only normal." Yoh laughed. "After all, we're brothers, and even so, _twins_!"

He lay on his hands exactly in the same position Hao, and crossed one leg over the other.

"Eh?" The air was unnaturally warm around Hao. "Why is it so warm here?"

"Remember I can control the weather to some extent." Hao reminded him. "It's called _Onmyōdō_"

Yoh's thoughts immediately drifted back to the time where they were caught in a snowstorm in the USA, while making their way to Patch Village. Hao had appeared before them, and the snow had dropped everywhere _except _him and his group. They had stared in awe and jealousy at his power. This was back then, but now was now, and Yoh reveled in the heat that Hao generated. He sighed, and snuggled closer to Hao. No wonder he wore loose-fitting clothes in whatever the elements threw at him.

"Ne, Nii-chan."

"Ah?"

"Didn't you give the Spirit of Fire to Lyserg-kun?"

"That's correct, yes."

"Then why did you still have it when I fought you then?"

"Oh. Did I not tell you that I can shape my spirit into whatever form I want?"

Yoh shook his head.

"Well, I liked the form of the Spirit of Fire, and got the Great Spirit to assume his form." Hao explained. "If I wanted to, I could make him become a Spirit of Water or even a Spirit of Earth."

"Ah, sou-ka?" Yoh gazed at Hao, still unable to believe that he was in the presence of such a great shaman. "Onii-chan, I don't even know why you're helping me. I'm sure there's someone out there who's more dedicated, smarter, and more skillful than I am."

Hao grinned, and pulled Yoh closer.

"Remember when you said to your friends 'Hao is Hao'?" he asked. "Well, I say to you now, 'Yoh is Yoh", and there's no other person I would rather teach in the world."

Yoh stared at his twin in disbelief.

"Don't say that." he laughed nervously. "It makes me feel honoured, as if I deserve this from you."

"Iie. The person who is honoured is me." Hao replied. "You have taught me how to feel for others and understand what they in turn feel. I no longer have to read minds to tell what other people are thinking."

"Ah…" Yoh blushed. "Domo, Nii-san."

Hao nodded, smiling at him.

"With me, you'll learn how to control the five elements with that Spirit of Earth of yours." Hao continued. "I may allow you to use my Great Spirit for the final battle."

"Really?" Yoh asked. "Sugoi!"

Then something hit him.

"Matte-oh. Isn't the point of the Shaman Tournament to get the Great Spirit?" he asked. "But you already have the Great Spirit. So what's the point?"

Hao laughed.

"You're mocking me, aren't you?" he said. "You _know _that the Shaman King gets to reshape the world however he wants, with or _without _the Great Spirit."

Yoh smiled; Hao had seen through his ruse.

"Ah." He replied. "You're too smart for me, Nii-chan."

Hao broke into a smile.

"For now, yes. But…" he observed. "You're part of me as well, so you _should _be able to understand what I myself understand, even though you're a lesser soul." He added, grinning mischievously.

"Don't remind me." Yoh groaned. "I'm a cheap copy, I know. I'm probably not even real. I don't even exist, like you said."

"Baka." Hao said softly. He stroked Yoh's hair. "You feel pretty real to me. If you weren't real, how could you come to life again after being sucked back into me?"

"Ah, that's true." Yoh said. "I heard Amidamaru calling me so went toward him."

"There you go." Hao smiled. "Anyway… it's getting late. We should go in."

"Ne, Nii-San." Yoh whined. "Let's stay here. You can make the air warm, and I'm too lazy to move."

Hao smiled, and got to his feet. With a groan, Yoh extended his hand, and Hao pulled him to his feet. He put his arm over the long-haired Shaman and together they walked into the house.

"I think I'll train you on martial arts when I've fully recovered." Hao said, as they snuggled into their futons, sharing the blanket again.

"For now, it's going to have to be the controlling of furyoku." He continued, removing Yoh's shirt that he was wearing and throwing it into the corner of the room.

Manta had said goodbye and went home, as he needed to get to school early tomorrow. Anna and Tamao had cleared up the table, and had gone up to bed while Ren was watching the television, trying to catch up on the news.

"Doesn't Anna get angry if you don't sleep with her?" Hao asked. "I mean… you _are _engaged, ne?"

Yoh laughed softly.

"Hee hee." He chuckled. "Iie. We are engaged, but we have our own rooms. I only sleep with her when she gets lonely. She says I snore too loudly." He said sheepishly.

Hao grinned.

"Well, she's right."

"Sou-ka?"

"Yes." Ren had turned his attention to them. "While we were travelling with him, it was a nightmare sleeping if he fell asleep before you."

"Gomenasai." Yoh laughed.

"We used his headphones and stuffed them down his mouth whenever he snored too loudly." Ren continued, unabashed, as he eyed the box.

"Nani?!" Yoh examined his headphones and found minute bite marks on them. He cried a river of tears.

"Ore no headphones…"

Hao laughed at his antics.

"Time for bed." He said. "I'm sleepy, and both of you need to wake up early to train."

Ren wordlessly turned off the television and headed upstairs to Yoh's room to sleep.

"Oyasuminasai." He said softly, without turning around.

"Ah. Domo." Yoh called back. He undid his topknot and let his hair dangle around his shoulders. It was at a considerable length, but not as spectacular as Hao's.

"Oyasuminasai, Otouto." Hao groaned, as he turned over onto his back.

"Oyasuminasai, Nii-Chan." Yoh yawned happily, as he snuggled up to his twin. Like in the morning, he rested his head on Hao's shoulders, avoiding contact with his chest, because that would mean opening up the wound.

Hao blinked in surprise at the contact, but accepted it without complaint. Very soon, both of them dropped off to sleep, Yoh snoring moderately loudly and Hao letting out relaxed deep breaths.

Tomorrow would be a less abnormal day.

* * *

Well, I had a bit of time today, so I managed to complete this chapter. I think one thing you'll note is that this chapter didn't contain much in action, but more than made up for it by the amount of conversation and explanation as Yoh and Hao managed to bond even closer while lying on that patch of earth. I hope you guys are having fun reading this so far.

More reviews would be appreciated. I'd like to know what other people think of my hobby.

Cheers!

* * *


	4. The Night Before

Chapter 4: To Hell

As Lost to Reality very kindly pointed out, I realized that I had anonymous reviewing disabled! Apologies, and anonymous reviewing has been enabled as of yesterday. Suggestions on how the story goes will be gratefully accepted. And also, Yoh calls Hao "Onii-chan" with the "O" when in certain circumstances, for example when he was wondering why Hao would willingly teach him rather than go teach someone else, and also when he wants something from his twin. Okay, back on track, Enjoy!

* * *

The next few weeks went relatively slowly as Yoh and Ren trained under Hao. The younger twin was certainly improving his skills at furyoku manipulation. Instead of the miserable shapes that he used to produce, he could now produce many more forms as well as the form of a star. His favourite shape was that of a navel orange. Now, Hao made them add more detail to the objects they were shaping, for example, Yoh could add in all the characteristics of an orange: the texture of it, the little stub at the end of it. The weather turned colder as it got into January, and often, cold fronts would blow onto the inn, causing frost to form on anything that was unfortunate to get in their way.

Ren could channel his furyoku into the wire that he pocketed that night and manipulate it into any form he wanted, often with a crackle of electricity. Hao's wound had healed enough that he could join Yoh and Ren on their morning runs. The thing that irked them the most was that Hao could easily run as many laps as he wanted, and go at it tirelessly for hours and hours at a time. He did pushups with his little finger instead of both hands as they did. But he did it mainly for the company, and to check on them, of course.

"Nii-chan…" Yoh groaned, as he lay on the ground after their fiftieth lap round Funbari. "How can you not get tired after all Anna's put us through?"

Hao grinned down at him.

"It's very simple, really." He explained. "I'm more mentally prepared than all of you guys, so therefore my body functions according to my mental strength. You see, that's why it's imperative for you to improve your furyoku and mental skills."

"Ahh, I see." He got up and headed to the bathhouse, Ren following in his wake.

Hao smiled at their retreating backs, and removed his poncho before heading into the inn. He had had one made for him by Tamao, who was eager to flaunt her tailoring skills. It was nearly identical to his former one, only that this one was made out of strong polyester instead of the heavy cotton his former one was. It provided a lot more mobility, and Hao appreciated this, as he could warm the air around himself anyway.

"Uhh…" Yoh groaned, as he immersed himself into the steaming hot water. "That feels so good…"

Hao slid into the water beside him, and began washing his own long hair. Yoh and Ren chatted casually as they washed themselves and enjoyed the hot water while it lasted. Suddenly, Hao's pupils dilated as he felt a tugging at his heart.

"Nii-Chan, doushtan?" Yoh asked in concern. Hao slowly looked up at him.

"The Great Spirit is calling me." He replied, voice tinged with pain. "I need to go to hell to claim it, or else I will never forgive myself for letting Taizan Kuzun (the God of the Dead) get his hands on such a powerful entity."

"Wakarimasu." Yoh said, with conviction in his voice. "So… when do we go?"

Hao looked at him sadly.

"I'm not asking you to come with me." He said. "What I said a few weeks ago was something that was ill-thought off."

"Hao…"

"I know you are strong, otouto-chan. Your Spirit of the Sword as well as your Spirit of Earth are formidable forces. You showed that while you were fighting the X-laws on their ship. Yes I know about that." He said, as Yoh's face changed into one of surprise.

"However, Taizan Kuzun is a foe even I am wary of." He continued. "I virtually had to _beg _him to let me be reincarnated in this form. This will not be an easy battle for me, and should I fall, someone must be there to carry on the Asakura name."

"I know that." Yoh said. "But I also know that if we work together as brothers do, we will defeat this God of Death that you speak of, and get your Spirit back."

"Gomenasai, Otouto-san." Hao whispered. "I cannot risk anything happening."

"Nii-chan, you don't have to explain anything to me." Yoh replied. "I've been to hell before, right after the fight with the X-laws, as well as Ren. He understands how dangerous it is."

Ren nodded his head, arms crossed across his body.

"But, if both of us go, arm in arm, shoulder to shoulder, then I fully believe anything is possible."

Hao sighed.

"I'll think about it." Was all he said. They finished bathing and went back into the inn, where Anna was waiting with towels for them.

"Domo, Anna-san." Hao said to the blonde girl. "I thank you for accepting me in your abode and taking care of me. I wish you a happy life with Yoh should I not return."

Anna nodded.

"Just make sure you don't come back dirty like you did the first time." She replied. "As for Yoh, I've told him to go with you, but in the end, it's your own decision."

Hao smiled.

"Arigato gozeimasu, Anna-san." He bowed to the itako, and accepted his towel gracefully as he walked into the main living room.

"Ren, what do you think?" Yoh asked the Chinese shaman. "Is it worth it going to hell?"

"You shouldn't be asking me that!" Ren snapped. "He's _your _brother, not mine."

His face softened.

"But if Jun had to go wherever Hao is going, I would gladly follow her to the ends of the earth."

Yoh grinned at him.

"Thank you, Ren." He replied. "That was the answer I was looking for."

He got dressed and found Hao in the front garden, staring at the sky as he always did.

"Hao…"

"Isn't it beautiful?" Hao stated. "Nature in its utmost glory."

"Nii-chan, walk with me."

They strolled into town, passing by the Japanese food outlet that had the takeaway Anna loved. Yoh placed his arm around Hao's shoulder affectionately and guided him to whatever direction he wanted to follow. Both of them said 

nothing as they casually looked at the daily bustle of the town. The sky was gloomy that day; it was as if nature itself was preparing for Hao's departure. They didn't need to say anything. They were one. Eventually, they arrived at the outskirts of the town, close to Funbari Inn.

They spotted a butterfly breaking out of its cocoon, shaking out fluid from its wings. It unfolded its multi-coloured utilities of flight, and took off into the darkening sky, contrasting blatantly with its gloominess.

"Otouto-chan, that's you." Hao said, pointing at the insect. "You have learnt so much by yourself and with the help of your friends. The cocoon was you, before you went to hell and got the experience you needed. Now…"

He patted Yoh's shoulder.

"The butterfly is you." He said, softly. "I will miss you while I am gone. Please think of me as you would think of your brother. I am truly grateful that I was able to spend this time with you, for what it was worth."

Yoh grinned.

"Domo, nii-chan." He replied. "Let's go back to the inn."

They walked back into the inn, and sat on the porch. At that time, it started to pour heavily. Hao manipulated his furyoku and made the area warmer as the air became chilly. For a time, they enjoyed each other's company.

"I have always wanted to watch the stars with you." Yoh admitted, as he sat close to his twin. Hao nodded.

"Each individual star has its own story to tell, just like both of us." He explained. "It's amazing that even someone as powerful as me is only a very small speck of the universe."

He glanced sideways at Yoh, who was wearing an expression of deep pondering.

"You're scared, aren't you?" he said. "You're afraid I'll come out of hell wanting to destroy everything again."

"Don't be mean." Yoh chided him. "I know you can read minds. Of course I'm worried about you. I've finally been able to have my own twin, someone I can trust in… and if that's taken away, I don't know what's going to happen."

His thoughts immediately shifted back to that afternoon at Patch Café where they had coffee together. Hao had said almost the exact same words, and he had replied with the latter as well. Hao looked shocked for a moment, but then regained his composure and smiled at Yoh guiltily. The rain pattered around them, and for once, they felt at peace with everything. There they sat, until the stars came out.

"Do you see that star there, the large one shimmering beside the moon?"

"Ah."

"That star will eventually come down to Earth to signify the continuation of the Shaman Fights." Hao said. "At that time, you will be prepared to endure what comes after."

"Hmm… so the Patch are still involved in this, are they?" Yoh pondered.

"Hai desu."

"I wonder where Ryu and Horohoro are…" Yoh said dreamily. "Can you tell by reading the stars?"

Hao laughed.

"Iie." He replied. "I can only read my destiny. And because you and I are one, that destiny is the same for you. You _will_ become the Shaman King. That's what the stars say."

"Sou-ka?"

"Mm."

"I wonder what I'll do when I become the Shaman King." Yoh scratched his head as he leant against Hao's shoulder.

"Plenty of things, I would imagine." Hao laughed, as Yoh's hair tickled his neck. "Just promise me you won't change."

"Nani!" Yoh scorned. "I am stronger than that!"

"We'll see."

"What, you don't trust in me?" Yoh pulled away and put on a faux expression of hurt. Hao chuckled at him.

"Otouto, that doesn't work on me." He said. "You've taught me too well to recognize fake emotions."

Yoh gave up, and lay on his twin's abdomen. For a second, it was rock-solid, then Hao relaxed, and the texture became a smooth and soft one.

"How did you become so muscular in the first place?" Yoh asked, as he stroked Hao's bulging bicep. "You're the same age as me, and yet so different. You don't train every day, do you?"

Hao grinned, stroking his twin's hair.

"All these muscles…" he tensed his abdomen so Yoh could feel its solidness. "… came from training with the Spirit of Fire using my regime a thousand years ago."

"Ah… Sugoi, sugoi!" Yoh exclaimed, enthralled by his other half's prowess. "Can I become like that as well?"

"If you had the Spirit of Fire and my training schedule, then yes." Yoh's face fell.

"I have the Spirit of Earth." He tried to redeem himself. "Would that work?"

"Perhaps, perhaps. But we'll have to see it when we see it, don't we?"

"Yeah…"

"Anyway, tomorrow I will ask Anna to send me to hell." Hao began planning his departure. "I think there's a better way of going there rather than being killed, like all of us did."

"Hmm… that would be possible." Yoh scratched his chin. "But Anna's specialty is with spirits, not with flesh and bone."

"Ah… that is true." Hao sighed. "I suppose someone will have to do the dirty deed. Then Faust can resurrect me once it's all over. I shall appear in Spirit form. I have the power to do that."

"How long will it take?"

"Time in hell is relative." Hao responded. "It does not pass while an individual is in the underworld. I could be gone for a second and reacquired my spirit."

"I see."

"Don't worry, I'll be alright." Hao's reassuring hand patted Yoh's chest. "Everything will be fine in the end, as you say."

"I know…" Yoh choked. "But what if it's… not? What if I never see you again? What if Faust failed in resurrecting you?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Hao replied. "Besides, I am Asakura Hao, the conqueror of the Lord of Death and the controller of the weather. Do not forget that."

"Nii-san, please take me along." Yoh requested calmly. "If I have to die, then it is my destiny. Please do not leave me hanging in the balance."

Hao sighed.

"I cannot." He replied. "I love you too much for that. You have given me a gift that is priceless, and that is the ability to sympathize and trust in another person. People here need you; that is why you must stay to bestow upon them your wonderful personality."

"Onii-san…"

"This is something I must do alone." Hao interrupted him. "Please allow me this honour. I will be alright, I promise you."

"Okay." Yoh knew he had lost. Hao smiled at him.

"Good. Now, can you see that star there? The one where…" he began talking about the various constellations of stars and the hidden planets beyond that, each twinkle of light being a sun many times bigger than our own.

Out of sight, Ren and Manta sat, watching the twins share their last night together before Hao was to embark on his journey.

"Yoh-kun…" Manta said, feeling his friend's pain.

"Such is life." Ren commented. "It is a pity I didn't get to learn more new techniques from him. I would have put it to good use."

"How can you say something like that?" Manta scolded him softly. "Don't you realize he's a changed person?"

"Ah, that is true." Ren said. "Still, I'm hoping he'll come back with that spirit of his. Then we can really get started on training."

* * *

"Faust-san, please make sure your blade passes through accurately." Hao said to the German necromancer. "Make sure my journey is one that is free of pain."

Faust nodded, clutching his wakizashi blade. Hao removed his poncho, and knelt down on the ground. It was the next day, and the rain had turned to snow during the night. Snowflakes drifted all around them. It was a beautiful day in Funbari and everyone would have been happy, if not for what was to happen.

"Nii-chan, take care of yourself." Yoh said quietly. "Make sure you return safe and sound. I want to see you again."

"Otouto-chan, I will." Hao replied, gazing into Yoh's eyes. "Faust, whenever you're ready."

He felt the pain in his heart as the blade went straight through his ribs, causing blood to gush out the other end. He winced, feeling his heart struggling to continue pumping life into his body. He concentrated on Yoh's face as his soul transitioned from this world to the other.

"Yoh…" he managed to say, before he faded away.

"Nii-chan…" Yoh whispered back. He felt as though a part of him was fading as Hao fell back; limp, against Faust's arms.

The doctor lowered him to the ground, where he staunched the remaining drops of blood, and made to lift him up again.

"Faust, allow me." Yoh gently nudged the necromancer away. Faust nodded, as he retreated back into the house.

He knelt down beside his lifeless twin, parting away stray hairs that were in his face. The killing stab that Faust had made was nothing more than a two-inch opening in Hao's chest. He picked up his other half and walked back into the inn, placing him upon his futon.

"What are you so worried about?" Anna's voice made him jump. "He'll only be gone for a bit."

"I'm worried." Yoh replied softly. "I'm worried because I'm afraid he won't come back."

"Baka." Anna knelt down beside him. "I know you, Yoh. You are a strong person. And Hao… Hao is even stronger than you. Therefore…"

She drew the blanket over Hao's body, covering everything except his face.

"All I can do now is believe in my fiancé's brother, and hope that he comes back victorious!" she proclaimed. "I do this because I trust in him and because I believe that he will not betray my Yoh."

"Anna…"

"Come, Yoh. Continue your training that your brother has set for you." She led him to the front garden this time, understanding silently that he would not want to go back to the backyard where the deed had occurred.

"Make sure you are ready for him when he returns." She left him, and went back into the inn to watch her soap opera.

"Hai, Anna." Yoh whispered, as he picked up a clod of earth and shaped it. "This I will do, and do this I will for both you and Hao's sake."

"Feeling lonely?" Ren opened the door and came out to him. "Let's train together."

And so they did. They toiled until lunch, and ate the food Tamao had prepared with gusto. Then, it was back to training again. Till nightfall.

"Ren, you can use my room for tonight." Yoh said to the Chinese shaman. "I want to be with my Onii-san."

Ren nodded silently, and plodded up the stairs. Anna brushed against him as she returned to her room after her soap, letting him know by her touch that she understood how he was feeling. Gradually, the house became quiet. He knelt down beside Hao's body. Strange, the air still felt a little warm, as if he were still alive.

"Hao… come back as soon as possible." He said softly to his twin. "Get your spirit and come back. You can train me properly then. I need the help of the Great Spirits. And also…"

"I need _you_."

* * *

There we go, another chapter completed. I must admit, though… I did feel like making Yoh go to hell with Hao, but I eventually decided against it because I have no idea what Hao did in front of the God of Death, so many years ago. I erred on the side of caution there, so please don't be too disappointed. This was a shorter chapter (by about 400 words) because this deals with the events leading up to Hao's departure to hell. A lot of reflection and revelation is seen in this chapter. I hope I have done well so far.

Anyway, how's the story so far? Looking good? Review please, as I've said, I've enabled anonymous reviewing, so let those words flow in!

I'll probably make them do a little more training after a tearful reunion, and then it's off to the UK! Thanks for your support this far!


	5. Espresso

Chapter 5: Espresso, please.

Okay, I'm sorry it's been such a long time, but here's the story! My exams are coming up, so I've restricted myself to 1000 words a day. Harsh, I know, but I will try to update as much as possible. Did anyone catch the Celine Dion concert in Manchester yesterday? It was well good! Please enjoy the story!

* * *

_"Let's see…" Hao said, as he looked at the menu. "I'll have an espresso."_

_"Hmm, I'm still new with these things." Yoh said, eyeing the menu. "What's an espresso?"_

_"It's a concentrated drink made with grounded coffee beans." Hao replied. "It will wake you up."_

_"I prefer something sweet." Yoh said, and he ordered a cappuccino._

_"Ugh…" Yoh scrunched his face up as he tasted Hao's coffee. "What's this?! It's really bitter!"_

_"Ha ha…" Hao pulled the drink back to him. "Yoh, I can still see you're still a child."_

* * *

"What's bothering you, Yoh-kun?" Manta asked in concern as they walked around in Funbari.

This was the second day that Hao had left for hell. There was no sign of him returning anytime soon. Yoh had decided to go for a walk after his fifty laps and three hours of training. Anna sent him out with a list of groceries, and told him to be back in time for Tamao to cook dinner. This gave him nearly three hours free. Manta decided to give his best friend some company.

"Ah… betsuni." Yoh replied, as they passed by a bowling alley. "Oh look, let's stop by there."

A café stood round the corner. A modest shop it was, selling slightly more expensive coffee than the ones around it. Yoh smiled. This coffee shop resembled the one in Patch village too long ago. Besides, he was dying for a drink after running. They settled into a corner, facing each other across the table.

"I'll have a frappucino please!" Manta said brightly, as the waiter approached them. "Yoh-kun, do you want orange juice?"

"Iie." Yoh replied, without even touching the menu. "I'll have an espresso, please."

"Huh?" Manta looked at him, slightly confused. "Yoh-kun, you _always _order orange juice! What's up?"

"No… nothing at all." Yoh smiled at him. "I just wanted to try something new for once."

Manta looked at Yoh's grinning face. For some reason, he knew that Yoh was not himself. And he didn't even need to guess why.

"Hao… you'd better come back." He thought to himself. "I will never forgive you if Yoh-kun stays this way should you not return."

"So… how's cram school going?" Yoh struck up a cheerful conversation with him.

"Ahh… it's going fine for now." Manta quickly replied, not wanting to let Yoh know what he was thinking. "It's quite boring so far, but I'm still enjoying it."

Yoh laughed softly.

"I still can't see how you can love studying and going to school so much." He said, scratching the back of his head. "For me, it's hard _not _to fall asleep when I'm in class."

His thoughts drifted back to when he was idly gazing out the window in class, and his teacher whose name he had forgotten since, had asked him to stand up to read the next passage. He was so lost in his thoughts that he had not even heard what the teacher had said. The educator had given up, and passed the reading onto another aspiring student.

He chuckled to himself as he recalled those days, that happened less than six months ago, but yet felt like they had happened years and years ago. Manta looked at Yoh approvingly. At least he was finding something to occupy himself with while Hao was gone. Their drinks arrived.

Yoh stared at his apprehensively before tentatively taking a sip. At once, he had to fight from scrunching up his face as the bitter fluid tingled in his taste buds.

"Ahh…" he stuck his tongue out to try and kill the taste. "It's bitter…"

Manta called the waiter to order orange juice.

"I don't know how Hao could enjoy these things." Yoh commented, braving himself for another sip and failing miserably to suppress his facial muscles.

Manta laughed at his laid back friend as he sipped his latte. Suddenly, someone's hands covered his eyes, making him choke slightly.

"Guess who?!" That maniacal voice sounded very familiar.

"Horo-horo?!"

The blue haired shaman released his grip on Manta, looking slightly disappointed.

"You recognized my voice?"

"BAKA! You didn't even bother to disguise it!"

"NANI?! You want a fight?!"

"Ah, Horo-horo." Yoh greeted the shaman, whose fists were raised. "Where have you come from? How's your field of coltsfoot?"

"Oh…" Horo lowered his arms. "It's growing alright. Once we figured out that we ran out of fuel on the crop duster, we got cracking."

He jumped into the seat beside Yoh.

"Now, it's just waiting for it to grow!" he spotted Yoh's espresso. "Hey, mind if I take a sip?"

"You can have it." Yoh had had enough of the bitter black liquid. The orange that Manta ordered arrived, and the blonde boy pushed it towards Yoh.

"Thaank you." Yoh said, as he sipped the juice with the straw. "You know me best, Manta."

"WAH! NANI KORE WA?!" Horo was crying a river of tears after he had tasted Yoh's coffee. The bitterness was apparently too much for him to handle, and he was gagging as he tried to get rid of the taste.

"Espresso." Manta and Yoh said in unison. They caught each other's eye and laughed.

"Give me that, NOW!" Horo nearly snatched Yoh's drink away in his bid to rid his mouth of the foul taste, as the brown haired shaman kindly offered it.

"Did you hear?!" Horo said excitedly. "There are rumours that Hao has returned! I wonder how we'll get rid of him this time."

Manta and Yoh shared a look again, only that it was a look of exasperation.

"Yes… he returned." Yoh replied, sadly. "But he's gone now."

"What do you mean he's gone now?" Horo asked, intrigued. "You mean he came to your house?"

"Yes. But he's gone now. Gone from this world." Yoh continued, gloomily. "I don't know when he'll return. Perhaps never."

"Don't be ridiculous." The voice made everyone jump. Hao was standing at the door of the café, larger than life, flowing long hair, and with the Great Spirit appearing in miniature form.

"HAO!" Horo yelled in anger. "KISAMA!"

"Relax; I'm not here to hurt you." Hao raised his hands to signify peace. He went and sat beside Manta, staring at his twin.

"Nii-chan…" Yoh whispered, gazing into his brother's deep eyes. "You're back…"

"Of course I'm back. I told you it wouldn't be long, didn't I?" Hao said, smiling. "Now we are complete, you and I."

"Ah… Yukata." (Rough translation: thank god/that's a relief)

"WAIT!" Horo jumped onto the table. "THIS ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE HAPPENING! YOU!"

He jabbed his finger in Hao's face.

"YOU TRIED TO KILL ALL OF US!" he yelled. "AND TOOK THE GREAT SPIRITS FOR YOUR OWN!"

"I've changed now." Hao replied, smiling, as he took the nearly untouched cup of espresso and sipped it. "Hmm, otouto-chan, you seem to be acquiring my tastes for the bitter."

"Not a chance." Yoh replied, gratefully sucking on his juice. "I still don't see how you can enjoy these things."

"I guess that's something different between both of us."

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!" Horo screamed, going red in the face. "YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION! HE'S AN 'AHO'!!" (idiot.)

"Ah, urusai." Hao said softly. "And don't call me an idiot."

"Why not?!"

"Because…" Hao smiled darkly. "I'll reveal the name of the girl you love. Again."

Horo's pupils dilated and he crashed back onto his seat without a word, brooding and brooding.

"Ah, sumimasen, Horohoro." Yoh said to the blue-haired shaman. "It appears that I haven't properly explained the situation to you. Please come grocery shopping with me and come to my place after that. I'll cook a good dinner for you."

He finished his juice and paid the bill. Hao got up and followed him to the exit as Manta dragged a non-responsive Horo with him.

"So…" Yoh said, as he and his twin walked down the road. "When did you come back?"

"Oh, about an hour or so ago. Faust very kindly repaired my heart so I could live again before I came back."

"And your spirit?"

"Hai."

"Nii-chan, I'm glad you're back." Yoh had to stop himself from hugging his twin in the middle of the road. "I missed you."

"Ah… sou-ka?"

"Don't be mean." Yoh mock-pouted, as he slapped Hao on the shoulder. "You know I did. Without even reading my mind."

"I missed you too, otouto." Hao replied. "I missed you too."

They went grocery shopping and returned to the inn. Anna was waiting at the door for them.

"You're late." She said to them. "Bring the groceries to the kitchen and come to the living room. Hao, take a bath. You stink of the dead."

"Hai." The long haired shaman padded off to the bathhouse.

After dumping Horo in the living room, they delivered the groceries to an eager Tamao, who went about chopping up the ingredients for dinner that day. Then, they went to join Anna.

"Yoh, you need to start training even more now." She said, seriously. "You must take the advantage while Ren is gone so he will not learn the techniques that Hao will teach you."

Ren had gone on a daytrip to Osaka to visit Jun, who happened to be there for the weekend.

"I am not having someone other than my Yoh become Shaman King."

"Hai, Anna-san." Yoh dared himself to move closer to her.

Horo eventually came to his senses and was about to begin yelling again when he caught Anna's eye. His heart stopped for a second, and his eyes bulged as he mouthed the words that were supposed to come out screaming.

"Horo, don't make me murder you with this." She held up the remote control she was holding. Horo's hair stood on end.

"I'm… I'm going to take a bath!" he stammered, and rushed off to the bathhouse. Yoh stared after him.

"You realize that Hao is in the bathhouse, right?"

"Hai, Anna-san."

"Go. And make sure that they don't tear down the whole house or I'll have you answer to me."

* * *

"So…" Yoh began, washing Hao's hair. "What happened down there? What took you so long?"

"Well…" Hao replied. "I battled with Taizan Kuzun."

"You battled with the God of the Dead?!" Yoh exclaimed. "I wouldn't want to be you when we eventually die and go to hell."

Hao smiled the way he usually did when he knew something the others didn't.

"I defeated him." He said simply. "He knows not to touch me. Or you." He added.

"Ahh… sou-ka?"

"Hai." Hao leant against the edge of the bath, lying on his hands. "I still feel stiff after being dead for… how long was I gone?"

"Two days."

"Ah I see."

They had let Horo in on the meticulous details, and although he accepted Yoh's words, he still eyed Hao with a wary eye. Naturally, of course. It's not easy when your former enemy sits in front of you, let alone in a bathhouse, without batting an eyelid.

"Horohoro, do you still have the Spirit of Water?"

"Of course I do." Horo replied, a little too huffily. "I'm one of the great five warriors, after all."

"Just wondering." Yoh said, rinsing Hao's long hair in the water. Horo stared at him in distaste.

"How do you do that?" he asked, intrigued. "This guy tried to kill you and here you are, butt-naked, washing his hair and scrubbing his back!"

"I can." Yoh smiled. "Because he's my nii-chan. I can't stay angry at him forever."

Like Manta and Ren when they first discovered Hao, Horo's jaw dropped into the water.

"You are too forgiving." He said, echoing Ren's words. "Someday he's going to turn around and stab you in the back."

"Nani! That's not going to happen." Yoh assured the blue-haired boy. Horo nodded, but kept his distance from Hao anyway.

"Did you learn anything new in hell, Nii-chan?"

"Iie." Hao said curtly. It was obvious he didn't want to discuss the matter further.

"Hai." Yoh read Hao's mind (Not literally) and dropped the subject. "What're we going to do for training now then?"

"Well first of all, you still need to be trained in martial arts." Hao began. "And, now that I have the Great Spirit, I can make him appear as the Spirit of Earth to help you better understand the mechanics of furyoku manipulation."

"We only have about a month before the fights start, according to you." Yoh replied. "Do you think I am ready for them?"

"If you were to battle with normal contestants you would without a doubt defeat them without much breath." Hao replied. "However, if you were to come across my former minions, you would find yourself hard-pressed to defeat them."

He turned around and leant his back against the edge of the bath, sighing.

"Also, I have learnt of many other strong shamans that have become contestants of the Shaman Fights." Hao replied. "Peyote has broken away from my chain of minions and has formed a gang of his own. He is now recruiting the strongest and also the evilest shamans in the continent."

"I see." Yoh said. "What about Opacho? Did you find out what happened to her?"

"No." Hao shook his head sadly. "I know that she is still alive, but I'm not sure if she'll want to see me again after all that happened between us during our battle."

"Nii-chan, everything will be alright in the end." Yoh said, smiling. "I will help you find her and bring her back to your side. After all, you allowed her to be with us even when we were enemies. It will be easy to approach her and convince her that you are on our side."

"I hope you are right." Hao sighed again, closing his eyes.

Horo looked curiously at the duo. They seemed to be settling in nicely with each other and getting along well. Even Manta was being paid attention by Hao. The long haired shaman used to scorn him because he was human and not see the big picture of why Yoh had him as his best friend. He soon found out that there were so many other things to being a human than just being weak and arrogant.

"Hey, what was that you were saying about the Shaman Fights starting again in a month?" Horo asked suddenly.

"Oh, yeah." Yoh explained. "Hao says the Shaman Fights will resume next month in the United Kingdom. I hope you still have your Oracle Bell."

Horo's face fell.

"I left it back home with Pirika." He replied, sullenly. "I'm going to have to go back up North to retrieve it."

"Daijoubu." Yoh said. "We'll meet at the airport or something."

"How does he know that the fights are going to start again?" Horo asked again.

"The stars told me that." Hao said, gazing up at night sky. "They tell us a lot of things, and so far, I can only see a limited amount of their message."

"Let's not worry about that now." Yoh said happily. "Hao is back! It's time for celebration!"

He ignored the snide remark Horo made.

He climbed out of the bath and returned with towels for all of them and clothes for Hao. He had very carefully put the poncho in his wardrobe as not to crease or stain it, and he now had the polyester article of clothing in his arms.

"Ah, domo." Hao donned his clothing. Manta and Horo got dressed and met them in the living room, where Anna was still watching her soap.

"You two, go help Tamao prepare dinner." Manta and Horo got up to leave.

"You stay here." She pulled Yoh and Hao by their hair and dragged them back to the ground as they tried to make a sneaky escape.

"Tell me what happened in hell." She asked calmly. "It is obvious you got your spirit back, but what about the rest of the spirits that were eaten by your Spirit of Fire? Were they all there as well?"

"It doesn't work that way." Hao explained. "A spirit is only reincarnated with its original memories when its owner is powerful enough to be reincarnated likewise. Otherwise, these spirits you speak of would be just wandering spirits."

"Sou-ka?"

"Hai. Why did you ask?"

"Betsuni. I was curious." She turned her attention back to the television. "You may leave if you wish."

"Iie." Hao said, as he removed his poncho and lay on the futon. "I want to feel the softness of life again, the fragility of sinew and bone. The worldly pleasures of being alive."

"Nii-chan, you must be stiff from being dead for two days." Yoh said, as he produced the cream Faust had given him. "Allow me to ease the tension."

He put a blob onto his hand, and gently applied it to Hao's frontal torso, admiring the muscular structure of his twin's body. Hao sighed with ecstasy.

"Ungh… otouto-chan, that feels good…" he groaned, as Yoh rubbed the cream into his chest.

He closed his eyes and relaxed as the weight of the past eternity (time is relative in hell) crashed down upon him. Yoh was giving him comfort, and for now, that was the only thing that counted.

"I wonder what's going to happen once we go to the UK." Yoh said dreamily. "Where will we stay? Will it be cold?"

"Well, you've got a friend living in London, don't you?" Anna replied. "And you don't ever speculate about the weather in Britain. It could be hot one day and freezing the next for all you know."

"Sou-ka?"

"Bring that jacket of yours over." She continued. "Just in case."

"Aren't you coming, Anna?"

"Iie." She replied. "I'm running a business here, so I can't afford to leave just like that. Faust is staying as well."

"Nani?!" Yoh exclaimed. "Then who's going to revive us if we die?"

"Jun. She's going with you." Anna informed them. "And what makes you think you're going to die that easily?"

"Jun?" Yoh asked. "Why's she coming with us?"

"Baka. She's going with Ren."

"Sou-ka? I wonder if he'll let us use his plane like last time." Yoh replied. "But Nii-chan's spirit can teleport, ne?"

He did not receive a reply. Hao had fallen asleep… again. The long haired Shaman breathed in and out deeply, signifying a deep level of unconsciousness. Which was unusual, because Hao was aware of his surroundings all the time.

"Oi… Nii-Chan…" he moved to poke Hao as he always did, but Anna stopped him.

"Yamenasai." She said. "Let him rest. Tomorrow he will start training you again. In order to do that effectively he must recover his energy."

"Okay, Anna."

He continued rubbing the cream into Hao's body, and eventually managed to ease all the tension that had accumulated in his joints and muscles. He then went into the kitchen to help Tamao prepare dinner, knowing that Anna had allowed him to skip his training for the day and appreciating it. They had a peaceful evening, gorging themselves on the food that Yoh and Tamao had prepared.

"So… Hao…" Horo began. "What brought you back here in the first place?"

"As you can see, I have the Great Spirit under my control." Hao replied. "It is in all our best interests that Yoh becomes the Shaman King, and so, here I am."

"Nani?!" Horo exclaimed. "Why does YOH have to be the Shaman King? I want to be the Shaman King as well!"

"Unfortunately, although you are one of the five great warriors that lady Sati chose to represent, you are still lacking in both physical strength and furyoku. There will be no possible way for you to defeat my minions now. And also, I believe that the Patch are getting involved in the consequent fights more closely."

"Hang on…" Yoh said. "What do you mean 'more closely'? Does that mean they are going to compete as well?"

"Already, lady Goldva has chosen a select few of the Patch to represent their part in the fight." Hao replied. "With this, they hope to win the Shaman Fight and then rebuild what was known as the Great Spirits. That column you see now in Patch village is only but a shadow of their former glory."

"I see." Horo scratched his head. "But… Yoh and I are about the same in skills and strength. How is HE going to become the Shaman King?"

"I will train him." Hao said, as simply as he said to Ren.

The blue-haired shaman's face immediately darkened.

"That's not fair." He spouted. "I want to be trained as well."

"Oh?" Hao smiled. "You'd be willing to be trained by your enemy? The one who tried to kill you? The one who killed Yoh?"

"I didn't say that!!" Horo snapped. His face cleared, but was immediately filled by that of confusion. "Wait… maybe I did."

"Someone's also lacking in the intelligence department I can see."

"URUSAI!!"

"Enough. Training starts tomorrow, after Anna's finished with you." Hao announced. "Do not expect me to train you at the same level I intend to train Yoh at. He deserves that privilege as my otouto. Get in my way and you will be annihilated." He smiled sweetly.

"Nani?! You want a fight?!" Horo raised his fists for the second time that day.

"There we go." Hao said disdainfully. "Always quick to anger. Here's a mini-lesson for the day. 'He who is quick to anger commits foolishness'. Think about that for the night."

"What are you suggesting?!"

"Think about it." Hao said, darkly this time. "Or I will reinforce my promise to you this afternoon."

Horo's pupils dilated as he realized that Hao still had the ability to read minds.

"H-hai… sumimasen…"

"Good, good." Hao sipped his soup slowly. He took his bowl to the kitchen and returned with another helping of rice. "Mmm… so good."

"Baka! You're taking my share!" Horo flared up again.

"Ah… daijoubu." Yoh stopped the fight before it could happen. "Hao can have mine. I'm not that hungry anyway."

"Hmph."

They ate in silence after Anna shot them a glare.

"I think I'll retire early tonight." Hao announced, as he started heading up to Yoh's room, removing his poncho again. Horo watched as he entered the room and slid the door shut.

"Are you…" he began.

"Sleeping in the same room?" Yoh finished his sentence. "Yes, we are."

"Nani?! Am I supposed to share a room with… HIM?!"

"You can sleep downstairs if you don't like it." Anna said curtly. "Alone."

Horo cringed.

"Okay, okay. But I don't like it."

"You'll get used to it." Manta reassured him. "He's changed. At first, I was unsure as well, but now I'm fine with being around Hao. Sometimes he goes fishing with me, but he doesn't like the water."

He chuckled.

"As long as Yoh-kun accepts him, so will I."

Horo sighed, defeated.

"Hai desu."

* * *

How's the story so far, guys? Looking alright? I think I'll make them go to the UK on the next one. Spending too much time in Japan is getting a bit boring in my opinion. Anyway, review and PM me if you have any questions! Tell me if there are any errors in both grammar and general storyline logic. Thanks for reading.


	6. The UK

Hey there. Sorry for the long wait. It's been nearly a week and a half. Apologies for that. Well, there's nothing much to say here except a huge thank you to everyone who's been kind enough to read and review this attempt at a fictional story. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 6: The United Kingdom.

"Hmm, I wonder how long the flight's going to be." Yoh sighed. He leant back against his seat and closed his eyes.

"Don't complain." Ren retorted. "At least you're not flying on a normal plane."

They had made use of one of Ren's thirty-three planes that his family had in their possession. Although comfortable, the length of the flight was beginning to take its toll on them. The Learjet 45 cruised along the skies, buffets of air no match for it.

"Nii-chan, why didn't we just use your spirit to teleport?"

"The UK is a small country. Do you really want to attract that much attention?" Hao questioned back. "Appearing in Heathrow airport in a burst of flames, how quaint."

"We could teleport somewhere else."

"Iie. I don't know the UK like I did the USA. I haven't been here for such a long time you know." Hao gazed at him reproachfully.

Yoh was quiet.

"Besides…" Hao continued. "… I'm quite comfortable where I am. No need to use furyoku at all."

He stretched out on the seat he was in, toying with the controls. Yoh stared.

"Nii-chan…" he murmured.

"Ah?"

"Betsuni."

"Sou-ka?"

"Don't read my mind." Yoh warned, as he lay back against his own seat. Hao smiled guiltily as he shifted in his place.

"So… any surprises you wanna tell us about?" Horo asked Hao. "The last time we were in a plane it crashed, and that was for a shorter distance as well."

"I'll show you a surprise." Hao said, a wicked grin forming on his face. "I can make my Great Spirit show your Spirit of Water a few tricks."

He glanced at the swirly, wafting clouds.

"Outside."

Horo paled and shut up. Hao laughed at him casually.

"Hao-kun, that was unkind." Manta frowned at the long-haired shaman.

His parents had allowed him to accompany the troupe to the UK, albeit after many discussions and compromises on either side. In the end, Manta had to agree to call back once every two days in order to assure his family that he was still very much alive, and he did promise that with fervency.

"Oh, he'll get over it." Hao replied. "I wasn't being serious anyway."

"You mean he wasn't serious?" Horo whispered to Ren, who elbowed him aside. "Creepy…"

The rest of the flight continued without incident, and the plane touched down on the Heathrow Airport strip. The pilot virtually kissed the runway, and the gang was pleased with his skill and expertise at the throttle. They got off on Terminal Three and walked down the long corridors to the baggage reclaim area.

"What a weird place." Yoh commented, as he saw surveillance cameras literally dotting every single angle of the complex.

"The people of the United Kingdom are the most watched people in the whole of the world." Hao said, putting on a scholarly attitude. "A citizen may be captured on CCTV more than three hundred times a day, and there is an average of twenty cameras per square mile."

"Wah, sugoi, sugoi." Yoh said, awed. "Demo… doushtan do they have so many cameras?"

"Crime prevention, mostly." Hao replied. "Why they don't make use of shamans' psychic abilities is beyond me."

They continued walking and since they flew in a private aircraft, they had their luggage with them, so they went straight through immigration.

"Passports, please." A surly looking immigrations officer grunted, obviously very bored with his job.

Yoh didn't understand, but he handed over his passport anyway with a grin on his face. The officer's eyes found the "Working Holiday" visa that had been printed onto his passport, and stamped it, signifying his approval.

"Ssankyu…" Yoh slurred, as he walked through the turnstiles. The rest of the group caught up with him shortly.

"Any problems?"

"Iie. We got in fine."

"Hmm…" Yoh's attention was already diverted. "I wonder what Ryu's doing."

"He probably found his 'best place' and settled in there." Horo replied. "I did meet him a few months ago after planting that field of coltsfoot."

"Ah I see." Yoh replied. He spotted Hao heading off in a seemingly random direction. "Nii-chan, where are you going?"

"Toilet, I'll be right back." Hao turned around, looking exactly like Yoh as he was wearing his twin's clothing instead of the long poncho in order to avoid attracting attention. He also had his hair tied round the back of his head.

"Mmm. We'll find a place to eat and call you once we find one."

Hao fished in his pocket and drew out a cell phone.

"It defeats me how anyone can find a use for this." He said disdainfully. "I can't even operate it!"

"That's why I said we'll call _you_." Yoh replied, placating him. "It's not hard to use that thing. Everyone needs to start somewhere."

"Yeah, alright."

They headed off in search of food, and after searching fruitlessly for ten minutes, they found themselves in Terminal One, Arrivals.

"Oh well, guess we'd better call Hao now."

They did, and Hao assured them that he was on his way.

"Ah… I wonder how we're going to get to wherever this Shaman Fight is." Yoh said, pressing on the buttons of his Oracle Bell. "It's not like it told us where it was; all it said was 'go to London' and receive further instructions. Where are we going to stay?"

"You can stay at my place." A familiar pubescent voice replied. Yoh gazed at a British boy who was dressed in a green jumper and black trousers. The sleepy green eyes and the hair brought back strong memories.

"Lyserg-kun!" Yoh put his arm round the boy's shoulder and hugged him hard.

"Ah yamate …" he choked, but still managing to smile his all-too-known outworldly grin.

"You haven't changed, Lyserg-kun." Yoh said as he released the shaman. "How did you know we were here?"

"I'm a dowser." The reply was simple and sweet.

"Ah… so desu."

"Anyway, I suppose we'd better get a move on. Where's Ryu?"

"Oh, we've been trying to get in contact with him, but he's not picking up his cellphone for some reason."

"I see." Lyserg nodded. "Is everyone here then?"

Yoh and Manta glanced at each other nervously.

"Well… not exactly." Yoh began, at the same time Hao rounded the corner, clutching a bag of crisps.

"Watch out, Yoh!" Lyserg cried. "It's Hao!!"

He drew out his dowsing crystal, ready to summon his multispirit oversoul Zeruel and Morphine. He was duly rugby tackled to the ground by Ren and Horo.

"Nanda Kore wa?!" the crushed boy choked. "He's our enemy!"

"Not anymore, Lyserg-kun." Yoh said with a smile, as he helped him to his feet.

"What?! What do you mean?" he sputtered, very confused. "You don't mean to tell me that he… HE…"

He pointed at Hao, who grinned at him.

"He was travelling with YOU?!"

"Ah."

"NANI?!"

"I know it's hard getting used to, but Hao no longer means us any harm." Yoh reassured him.

"Yes, I know he killed your parents." He continued. "But he says he's sorry for it."

"BAKA! Do you think I can forget everything just by that word?!" Lyserg shouted back, tears forming in his eyes. "Sorry isn't the word I want to hear!"

"Why?" Yoh's soft voice rang in his ears.

"Because… because… it means I can't get my revenge!" Lyserg yelled. "I can't kill Hao knowing that he won't fight me back. I want him to say those hate-filled words so that I can bask in the joy of killing him!"

"Lyserg-kun, you know that's not what your parents would have wanted." Yoh said pleadingly. "More killing isn't going to solve anything you know."

Lyserg was silent.

"You are no longer welcome in my house." He said softly, turning away from them. "I cannot be with people who are in liaison with my most hated enemy."

"Lyserg…"

"Urusai! I'm going home. Don't follow me." He walked off, shoulders hunched in the gloomy weather.

"Yoh, don't bother." Hao placed his hand on his twin's shoulder. "He's just angry. He'll come to his senses soon."

"How do you know that?" Yoh asked softly, unconvinced.

"I will talk to him."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"What have we got to lose?"

"Ah… so desu." Yoh replied, breaking into his smile. "I leave it up to you then, Nii-chan."

"Now what? We don't have a place to stay!" Horo complained. "We should have followed Lyserg home and left Hao here!"

"You can follow him home if you want." Ren replied coldly. "Shows us what sort of a friend you are."

Horo shut his mouth.

"Well…" Yoh glanced at his Oracle Bell, which also served as a watch. "It's only eleven thirty in the morning, so we have plenty of time to sightsee. Everything will be alright in the end."

For once, they came to agree with Yoh, and walked out of the airport. Lyserg was nowhere to be seen; he had apparently taken the tube back home.

"Wow, what's that huge clock tower there?" Manta pointed at the structure.

They were stood right outside Westminster Square, having walked from Piccadilly Circus after taking the London Underground.

"That's… that's… hang on." Yoh struggled to read the English on the tour card. "Big… Ben."

"Huh? Baka, why would they name a clock tower after someone?" Ren retorted.

"How should I know?"

They laughed softly, enjoying themselves but then not forgetting about what Lyserg's stance was with Hao. They walked through Leicester square, into China Town, and finally ended up outside a cheap motel.

"What do you think?" Yoh asked the group. "Worth it?"

"I'll take anything that comes, as long as I get a good night's sleep." Horo groaned, yawning widely.

"Don't be ridiculous." Ren snapped. "I'll bring us to a good hotel. My family will pay for it. They'd better."

He led them off to a bus stop, and produced a blue card as he spotted the bus approaching.

"Eh? Nani kore wa?" Yoh spotted the plastic thing.

"This is an Oyster card. You use it for a discount when you're boarding buses or using the tube." Ren replied. "It's only one pound for a bus ride instead of two pounds if you use this card."

"_Now _you tell us?!" Horo raged. "I've wasted so much money on the tube and on the bus!"

"Where do we get this… 'cockle' card anyway?" Yoh asked.

"You buy it at a tube station."

"So desu."

They went and got themselves an Oyster card each.

"Okay." Ren announced, as they went back to the bus stop. "There's a Hilton hotel near Euston. We can stay there until we find out where to go next for our Shaman Fight."

"What about Lyserg-kun?"

"We cannot expect him to accommodate us, and we won't." Ren said unusually patiently. "We will fend for ourselves for the time being."

"Ah."

They stepped onto the bus that had stopped, with the exception of Hao.

"Nii-chan?"

"I'm going to go talk to him."

"What, NOW?!"

"Yes." He said simply, grinning at them as the wind took his hair and made it swirl around him. "I'll see you soon."

He vanished in a burst of flames, causing a nearby cat to screech in disapproval as its tail got singed. Yoh sighed.

"I guess that's how it is." He said. "We'll meet up with him later. Hopefully he'll have talked some sense into Lyserg then."

They left.

* * *

Hao appeared again in the same burst of flames. He liked using flames as a method of transportation. He could use either medium, but he always had had the Spirit of Fire with him, so it grew on him. This house… looked exactly the same as it did eight years ago. Everything had been restored to its former glory. Even the staircase that had collapsed under the great heat that he had caused that long ago. Everything was…

"Perfect."

Lyserg stood behind him, his pistol in one hand and his crystal in the other.

"Here I was getting ready to hunt my enemy, and guess what, he appears in my own house. What luck!"

"Lyserg…"

"URUSAI! I will not have you disrupt my revenge!" he raised the pistol at Hao and fired.

Zeruel appeared, sword drawn and pointing forward, heading towards Hao. This was his enemy, the person who murdered his parents. And here he was; in close reach for a fight. To the end.

Suddenly, Lyserg's hatred filled pupils dilated, and he released the technique, causing Zeruel to appear behind him again, in his full winged stature of holiness.

"Why… why didn't…" he stuttered. "Why didn't you dodge?"

Hao glanced up at him, face wreaked with pain. Zeruel's sword had grazed the meaty area over Hao's kidneys, and blood was oozing its way out in fair amounts.

"I… didn't come here… to fight you." Hao gasped, dropping to his knees and clutching his bleeding wound. He did this for show, obviously. His pain tolerance was much higher than that, but he figured that Lyserg would probably let up on his onslaught in place of pity.

Normally, such an attack would have been deflected by Hao's armour oversoul so effectively it would hardly be considered a valiant attempt to defeat the great shaman. However, this time was different. Hao had willingly taken the damage, undefended.

"I'm sorry about your parents." Hao groaned, leaning against the doorframe. The bleeding was getting worse. Maybe coming here was a mistake. Yoh hadn't even learnt how to use multi-spirit oversouls yet, and here he was, kneeling at the feet of his old victim.

He waited for the Zeruel's slash, timing himself to teleport straight into Yoh's position as the sword hit. This was not worth dying for. Not yet.

However, instead of the sensation of cold steel upon his flesh, he felt the soft hands of the British youth. Lyserg was knelt in front of him, having hastily grabbed the first-aid kit from the cupboard. The green-haired boy pried Hao's hands away from the wound.

"It's bleeding badly." He said urgently, as he rummaged through the kit. "Here, maybe some Quik Clot will work."

He ripped the packet open, and poured the crystals onto Hao's wound. The pain turned into excruciation as the crystals expanded. He shouted with pain as he stiffened up, trying to fight it. Sweat formed on his body, damping Yoh's shirt, as he tried to resist those tendrils of agony poking at his mind. The next thing he knew was nothing but blackness.

"Yoh…" he heard Lyserg's voice faintly.

He was lying on something soft. A couch, perhaps, judging by the smell of leather. His left pocket which usually contained his cellphone felt especially light, and he knew that Lyserg had relieved him of it.

"I take back what I said." Lyserg's voice sounded in his ears again. "Please come over. I live a little off Charing Cross. It's the path behind the train station. You can't miss it. And… eh? Yes of course you can bring Jun along. I had no idea she was in England. Anyway… come over and I'll talk to you about something. I'm sorry."

He faded away into blackness again. Oh well, Jun would heal him when she came over.

* * *

"Lyserg-kun, arigato gozeimasu." Yoh said happily, as he walked into the house. "Wah, sugoi!"

He spotted the mattresses that Lyserg had pulled out for them, and headed straight for the most comfortable one, the one which had a huge white duvet spread out over it. As walked toward it, Lyserg stepped in front of him, bearing an expression of deep sorrow.

"Omai-wa daijoubu?"

"Iie. I need to speak to you." He pulled Yoh back to the staircase, where they were alone.

"Hao came to see me before I called. That's why you have Hao's number on your cellphone."

"Oh, really? I didn't notice." Yoh lied, smiling.

"But that's not the point." Lyserg cut him off, his voice breaking. "I… I… hurt him. I hurt your brother."

Yoh smiled at him.

"I know. I felt something was up before you rang me. As soon as I heard your voice, I knew that he was going to be alright with you."

"I… I don't understand." Lyserg continued. "Why didn't he fight me? I wanted to fight him. I wanted to die fighting him. He just… he just… stood there… and let me attack him."

"Lyserg-kun, Hao's heart does not have hatred anymore." Yoh said. "No matter how many more times you attack him, he will not defend himself against you. He knows he is guilty of causing this much hate and anger in you. So much that he is willing to let you hurt him for it."

Lyserg's heart broke. Everything that had happened so far overwhelmed him. After all this time of hate and anger, joining the X-laws, attacking Yoh and his party, the past eight years spent brooding and brooding; all this brought down by Hao's intervention. He had hurt the only person who had tried to end it all, blinded by his hate.

"Yoh-kun…" he said, tears breaking through his glass interior. "Gomenasai…"

They began flowing down his cheeks in salty streaks.

"I'm sorry." He said in English. Yoh didn't understand the words, but he understood the message.

"Ah, daijoubu." He pulled Lyserg closer, and the older boy draped his head over his shoulder, tears flowing freely now.

"I forgive you."

For a few moments, they stood like that, Yoh's hand around Lyserg's shoulder as the green-haired boy sobbed softly onto Yoh's.

"I'm sorry I didn't understand." Lyserg's thoughts shifted back to when he tried to join Yoh's team.

* * *

_Smack!_

"_Allies do not hurt each other." Yoh said, dropping his fist. "I will listen to you when we are at the hospital."_

_He turned and walked off, Horo and Ren in his wake, limping with their injuries. _

* * *

Allies did not hurt each other. How could he forget that?

"Where's Hao?" Yoh asked quietly.

"He's in that huge mattress… the one with the white blanket on."

"Oh, that's lucky." Yoh grinned. "I was going to sleep there anyway. Don't look so frightened. We are after all twins."

Lyserg's face softened.

"I suppose so." He replied. "Let's go downstairs and see how the rest are coping."

"Why do I have to share a bed with this baka?!" Ren snarled, pointing at an already snoring Horo. Jun laughed at him.

She had met up with them shortly after they had wandered off to the hotel. Her plane arrived literally two hours ago, and she called them up, praising herself for knowing how to use a cellphone. She was now tending to Hao's minor wound. Like Faust, she knew how to channel furyoku for medicinal purposes, and set about doing so.

"I must admit, it does feel a little weird, saving the life of your former enemy." She said, as her hands covered Hao's wound. "Wow, he looks exactly like you as well."

She glanced at Yoh, who smiled sweetly at her.

"But I know you are who you are." She said quickly. "I haven't met Hao yet. Well, not while he's awake."

She motioned to the sleeping boy.

"But Ren assures me that he will not harm us now, and I believe him." She patted Hao's abdomen, satisfied with her work.

"The lady gets the spare bed." Lyserg said flatly. "It's the first door to the left upstairs."

Jun nodded gratefully, and hurried off.

"If you want, Manta, you can sleep upstairs with me. I only have one bed though." Lyserg finished quickly, clearly embarrassed at this.

"If it's alright with you, Manta, could I spend the night with Lyserg-kun?" Yoh cut Manta off politely. The blonde boy nodded.

"Of course, Yoh-kun. I shall watch over Hao-kun and make sure no harm comes to him." Yoh smiled, and walked out the room in Lyserg's wake.

"Kisama. You've started calling him 'kun' now." Ren said venomously. "It's like he's becoming your second best friend."

"Don't talk nonsense, Ren-kun." Manta laughed. "All of you are my second best friends."

He tentatively nudged Hao to make sure he was asleep, before settling down beside the spitting image of Yoh.

* * *

"I thought you were sleeping with Hao." Lyserg said as they walked up the elegant staircase.

"I changed my mind." Yoh replied simply. "I haven't spoken to you since we left you at that long country road in the US. What better chance?"

"Ah. So desu." Lyserg replied.

"You sound funny." Yoh laughed. Lyserg's Japanese now had quite a strong tinge of the English midlands accent in it. Lyserg smiled as well.

"Sumimasen. I haven't spoken Japanese ever since." He explained. "I'm getting rusty now."

"Yeah, I can see that." They laughed, as they made their way up to the second level.

They passed two doors to their left, and Lyserg immediately opened the first door to the right of the corridor.

"The first room was where my parents used to sleep." Lyserg said. "No one goes in there."

He pointed back at the second door.

"That was my father's study, but I've since made that into my own." He explained. "And I put a bed in there, so that's where Jun's going to sleep. And this…"

He put his hand on the handle of the door they were facing.

"… is my bedroom." He turned the handle hesitantly, as if he was afraid of Yoh stepping into his sacred grove. "It's very messy."

He said, blushing deeply.

"I hope you'll forgive me." His British hospitality was growing on him. "It's really very untidy. There are books everywhere, and Morphine sometimes wanders round the room during the night."

"I love messy rooms." Yoh said, smiling. "Anna makes me pick up after myself, but I like the clutter around. Puts me at ease."

Slightly relieved, Lyserg pushed the door open. It wasn't as bad as he had said. There was a moderate amount of books on the floor, but they were neatly stacked beside the dresser. Lyserg's legendary green cloak with square patterns hung behind the door, flowing slightly with the breeze from the window.

"Wah, sugoi!" Yoh launched himself onto Lyserg's queen sized bed. There was a huge duvet covering it, and it was soft and fluffy. He sighed as he buried himself into the sheets.

Lyserg smiled.

"I hope you don't mind." He said, removing his jumper and his shirt inside, revealing the slender body that Ryu liked so much. "I usually don't sleep with a shirt on, but I don't want to be rude, so…"

"Ah, daijoubu." Yoh shed his shirt as well. "I'm used to this, remember?"

The breeze in the window became stronger suddenly, and Yoh started shivering uncontrollably, teeth chattering.

"Maybe that was a mistake." He stuttered, as he pulled the covers over himself. Lyserg laughed softly, and shut the window.

"You'll get used to it." He said, as he slid into the sheets, radiating warmth. "One thing about the UK is the weather. Everyone hates it. It can be really hot one second, and suddenly be absolutely freezing in the next."

He moved closer to Yoh, to warm him up.

"Tell me more." Yoh said, placing a hand on Lyserg's warm shoulder and making the boy blush furiously as he stiffened. It was clear he was embarrassed with his own body.

"Lyserg-kun. You don't need to worry about anything. I'm a guy as well, there's nothing to hide." Yoh laughed. "Maybe next time when you get a proper girlfriend, maybe an itako like Anna, you can start building up."

"Ah." Lyserg relaxed. It was so long since he had contact with another person. He remembered Yoh showing so much kindness to him during the Shaman Tournament. How he had refused to end his life when he turned into a vampire. How he had cradled him in his arms after exorcising the fake demon. He smiled gratefully, and snuggled up against the Japanese boy, his back against Yoh.

"Won't Anna be annoyed?"

"Anna knows I love her." Yoh replied simply, stroking Lyserg's chest gently. Goodness, the smoothness of the British boy's skin rivaled Anna's!

"She's not going to be annoyed because I slept in the same room as one of my male friends." He continued. "Horo and Manta sleep close to me all the time. I think she'd be more annoyed if I went sleeping with another girl, to be honest."

He laughed, and Lyserg giggled at that.

"Anyway, what HAVE you done since we left you in the USA?" Yoh got back on topic.

"Well, do you remember the Lily Five?"

"Hai."

"Well, they gave me a lift, and I legged it all the way back to JFK airport. That's where I took the plane back to Gatwick, and took the tube back." Lyserg replied. "Nothing much has happened since. I've gone back to school, and I'm thinking of taking up criminology. Then, I can hunt down bad guys as well as dowse like my father did. He was a good detective."

"So ja nai ka?"

"So desu." Lyserg said softly. For a moment, he was silent. Then, he started laughing softly.

"Doushtan?"

"Betsuni. It's just weird that I'm speaking Japanese in my own country." Lyserg replied, chuckling. "Omaitachi wa should learn how to speak English."

"Oh, don't remind me." Yoh groaned. "We had to adlib our way to Piccadilly Circus. It wasn't pretty."

"I get the picture."

"The police officers here are friendly, though." Yoh observed. "One policeman we met even had a tour guide in his pocket! Keen, no?"

Lyserg laughed.

"Yeah, they're a bit paternalistic when it comes to taking care of citizens." He replied. "They keep coming over and telling me that they're going to put me in a foster home, but I turned fourteen before I left for the Shaman Tournament so I can live by myself. My inheritance is more than enough to keep me going till I graduate from university."

"Wow, thinking about the future, are we?" Yoh chuckled. "Isn't it far too early for that?"

"Iie. I need to graduate so that I can follow in my father's footsteps. I want to have a family of my own as well, you know." He said reproachfully. "You're lucky; you have Anna. I have… no one."

Yoh understood. In a sense, he _was _much luckier than Lyserg. Both his parents were still alive. His brother had come back to him. He had so many close friends. Manta, Ryu, Horo, Ren… his most beloved friends. What did Lyserg have? He lived alone in this miserable cold country where it got dark at three in the afternoon.

"Nani… you have all of us, you know." Yoh said quietly. "Hao can teleport; he can easily bring us here whenever you feel lonely. All it takes is a phone call."

"Arigato." Came the faint reply. Yoh could not see it, but he knew that Lyserg's face held an expression of deep content and gratitude. He squeezed the boy tighter to him, causing the green haired youth to grunt softly.

"So… what are we doing tomorrow?" he asked the sleepy boy. "Are you going to show us round the better parts of London?"

"Ah…" Lyserg grunted. The combined warmth of Yoh's and his body was putting him to sleep fast. So many things had happened today. He met his enemy, he fought his enemy, he _forgave…_ dare he think it?... his enemy.

"Lyserg-kun?" A soft snore answered Yoh.

"Nani?!" he exclaimed. This was the first time someone fell asleep before he did! In the same room as well!

He sighed, and let sleep overcome him. And it did, in a matter of seconds.

* * *

Ah, this chapter is a turning point. They've won Lyserg to their side now. So it's time for the real action to begin. I'm not sure whether to place the fight in Wembley Stadium or Emirates stadium. Wembley sounds nicer actually. Anyway, review! Sorry for the long wait; I'm in exam period like NOW.


End file.
